Taipans Klintman’s ticket to NBA

2024 NBA Draft prospect Bobi Klintman strongly believes his stock will sky rocket once his time with the Cairns Taipans comes to an end.

The 6’10 forward is already a projected first round pick and chose to become an NBL Next Star to help grow his readiness for the NBA. 

“I’m going against really good players, it’s pros out here, I feel like that’s more like the NBA,” Klintman said.

“If I play in college, it’s more like 20-year-olds, 23-year-old guys but now I’m playing against grown men so it’s going to translate a bit better.”

Klintman has a strong connection with head coach Adam Forde, and revealed the 2023 Coach of the Year was the best fit for him.

“I feel like this is a great opportunity, coming in with a great coaching staff, we’ve got Adam Fordey leading the pack,” he said.

“I feel like he is a good coach, and he’ll put me in a great situation.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They&#39;ve got Next ?<br><br>Your home for NBL Next Stars ???<a href="https://t.co/zL1XCAYARL">https://t.co/zL1XCAYARL</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1695680640350654589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

When asked on how high he aims in the 2024 NBA Draft, the 20-year-old was focused on the present with the Taipans.

“As high as I can go, I’m not really focused on that right now, I’m just trying to focus on getting better every day and just getting a championship,” Klintman said.

“I just want a great season, I want to win a championship, that’s the goal. I want a championship, and then we’ll go from there."

Klintman and the Taipans open their Hungry Jack's NBL Blitz campaign against the Perth Wildcats on Sunday at 3:30pm AEST. 

You can catch all Blitz action live and free via Kayo Freebies.