NBA Draft: Bobi Klintman Offers Roleplayer Upside in Second Round
The 2023 NBA Draft is just 18 days away. Teams around the league are still bringing in players for workouts, conducting interviews, and assessing prospects’ character in an attempt to find the best fit for their franchise.
And when June 22 rolls around, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be in position to have three chances to improve their roster. They currently own the 12th, 37th, and 50th picks in the draft and while prospects chosen in the first half of the draft often yield better results, sometimes the right talent is lurking in the back half or even in undrafted free agency.
Just ask Nikola Jokic, Bruce Brown, Max Strus, and Caleb Martin. All were selected in the second round or picked up as undrafted free agents and all are currently in the middle of competing for the Larry O’Brien trophy.
While the Thunder have yet to yield any incredibly significant results from their second-round picks since their inception, this year’s draft could change that due to the abundance of talent in this class.
One of those talents is Wake Forest’s Bobi Klintman.
Klintman has flown under the radar a little bit after averaging just 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds across 33 games for the Demon Deacons. The Swedish national only started five games and logged just 20.5 minutes per night. But the 6-foot-10 forward’s combination of size and bright flashes were just enough to pique scouts’ interest.
Having just turned 20 years old, Klintman offers up a little bit of promise and upside in several areas of his game, most notably his 3-point shooting, overall defense, and playmaking.
Though he doesn’t possess perfect mechanics, Klintman knocked down 37 percent of his 72 catch-and-shoot jumpers showcasing a high, fluid release — something not often seen from guys his size. He also improved his ability to stay in front of players and contest shots as the year went on, leading to a 1.3 steal percentage and a 3.2 block percentage.
But perhaps playmaking might be his most enticing skill to explore. Prior to college, Klintman averaged over five assists per game for Sweden in FIBA’s U20 Championship B Division and continued to show flashes of NBA-level passing ability at Wake Forest.
At the end of the day, there are few prospects that offer Klintman’s combination of size, shooting, defense, and playmaking upside. And there’s even fewer that can be found beyond the first round of a draft.
Should the Thunder elect to draft Klintman, the young Swede would give the franchise a high-upside, low-risk project that could one day contribute as a roleplaying connector a la Aleksej Pokusevski. It’s also worth noting that the Thunder will have the luxury of bringing him along slowly and would likely utilize their G League affiliate team, the Oklahoma City Blue, to fine-tune his development.
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