Breakout NBA draft prospect Lachlan Olbrich primed for NBL champs and predicts Illawarra Hawks the team to beat

Lachlan Olbrich has the attention of NBA scouts with his stellar pre-season form, but the rising Aussie big is locked in to help his Illawarra Hawks challenge for an NBL championship.

Rising Aussie big man Lachlan Olbrich has become the name on the lips of every NBA scout following a breakout pre-season for the Illawarra Hawks.

Now Olbrich has his sights on starring against the reigning NBL champions - the Sydney Kings - in a bid to further climb up the NBA draft board rankings.

The boy from Adelaide became the undisputed surprise story of the Blitz on the Gold Coast after dominating in his debut tournament for the Hawks.

The 19-year-old excelled, highlighted by an 18-point, six rebound and five assist explosion, to have the record number of NBA scouts in raptures about his potential draft prospects.

Lachlan Olbrich’s breakout pre-season has him in the sights of NBA scouts. Picture: Russell Freeman/Getty Images for NBL.

Olbrich is keen to make the world’s best league one day, but his first priority is knocking off the defending champion Kings on Saturday.

“I’m ready to take it to them,” said Olbrich, who is yet to decide if he’ll declare for next year’s draft.

“It doesn’t matter that they’ve won two in a row, we’re the Hawks.

“We’ve got a new roster, we’re ready to go and we’re the team to beat this year.”

Olbrich won’t have it all his way against a successful, and experienced, Sydney side.

Kings big man Jordan Hunter has enormous respect for what Olbrich is producing as a teen, but says the reigning champs won’t make life easy for the emerging Adelaide-born centre.

“What he is doing at his age, is awesome to see but that being said there is no friends out there,” said Hunter, who will celebrate his 100th NBL game against the Hawks.

“We’ll try and bring it to them like we do every year.”

Illawarra may have finished last in NBL23, but as Hunter attests, the Hawks were a tough matchup.

The Kings defeated the Hawks in all four games last season, but it was always competitive.

Hunter expects this trend to continue in NBL24.

“They (Illawarra) were really unlucky with injuries last year, but that being said they were not the easiest team to play by any stretch,” he said.

“They played their heart out and we didn’t have an easy victory against them.

“They have retooled this year with a fresh roster, with a lot of those guys that were hurt coming back and the guys that played that whole season another year wiser.

“They are going to be just as difficult, they are going to play just as hard and we’ll be just as ready to make it a tough game for them.”

Jordan Hunter is primed for a big game against local rivals the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday. Picture: Dave Rowland/Getty Images.

Olbrich always thought the Hawks would be the perfect landing spot for his promising career, so he is thrilled it’s the case in reality.

“I’m ecstatic,” he said.

“This is the best place I could think of for me right now.

“This is such a good group of guys and I think we’ve all got each other’s backs led by Jacob and a great coaching staff.”

Olbrich is heading into NBL24 full of confidence following his eye-catching pre-season, but he also doesn’t want his success to result in a big head.

He knows the NBA scouts will be watching his every move throughout the season, however he can’t let the hype impact his game.

“I tried to block it all out, but it definitely does put a smile on my face,” he said.

“But then again, nothing is done so what is said doesn’t really mean anything.

“I’ve got to keep going, block it out and focus on myself.

“It’s motivating know – because it’s a good way to know that I’m on the right track.”

Originally published as Breakout NBA draft prospect Lachlan Olbrich primed for NBL champs and predicts Illawarra Hawks the team to beat