A potential lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft just withdrew his name from the pool. Wake Forest freshman Bobi Klintman revealed he will not be part of the Draft this year. Instead, as Shams Charania reported on Monday afternoon, he’ll pursue alternative routes to get to the Association.
“Wake Forest freshman Bobi Klintman is withdrawing from the 2023 NBA Draft,” Charania said on Twitter. He continued: “He will now pursue alternative routes to the NBA, both domestic and abroad. Klintman is a projected lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.”
Wake Forest freshman Bobi Klintman is withdrawing from the 2023 NBA draft, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. He will now pursue alternative routes to the NBA, both domestic and abroad. Klintman is a projected lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 12, 2023
The 6-foot-8 Klintman was a four-star high school recruit before his arrival to Wake Forest. As a freshman, Klintman averaged 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while averaging 20.5 minutes per game. His career-high came against the Syracuse Orange in the ACC Tournament, where he dropped 17 points with 11 rebounds.
But Klintman obviously feels like this isn’t the pathway to personal success. So, it sounds like he will be exploring his options. He won’t be the first nor the last player to pursue international basketball as a way of getting to the NBA. For him, the best you hope for is he can round himself out and be the projected lottery pick some expect him to be in 2024.
The deadline to pull yourself from the NBA Draft had passed today, June 12, 2023, so if you’re in, well, that’s it now.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022