2025 NBA Draft: Lachlan Olbrich Scouting Report
Evaluating the Illawarra Hawks and Australia prospect ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.
— This is a guest post written by Harry Zhang.
DRAFT EVALUATION: Late second or undrafted (No. 50—)
LAST BIG BOARD: N/R
NBA ROLE: Playmaking 4-man
REMINDS ME OF: Nemanja Bjelica on the Golden State Warriors, skinny Trevion Williams
RAW STATS: 8.4 PTS, 3.8 REB (1.5o), 1.6 AST to 0.8 TOV, 0.3 STL, 0.5 BLK, 2.3 PF in 16.6 MINS in 37 NBL GAMES (614 total minutes)
ADVANCED STATS: 19.7 USG%, 59.7 TS%, 9.6 OREB%, 14.7 DREB%, 13.7 AST%, 10.6 TOV%, 2.0 A/TO, 1.0 STL%, 2.8 BLK%, 0.4 FTA/FGA, 18.1 PER
Background:
— Background by Wilko Martínez-Cachero.
BIRTHDAY: March 14, 2003
HEIGHT: 6-foot-8¾
WINGSPAN: 6-foot-11¼
STANDING REACH: 8-foot-11½
WEIGHT: 230 pounds
Has been around basketball his entire life. Father is Greg Olbrich, considered a basketball legend in South Australia. Was former MVP of the South Australian State League, now known as the NBL1 Central. He passed away at 51 in March 2024 "after suffering a cardiac arrest [...] during a social match for the senior men’s division.” Mother is Jill Olbrich. Older brother is Mitchell Olbrich.
Made the most of his NBA Draft Combine week. Got promoted to the main event after impressing at the G League Elite Camp. Ultimate goal is to play in the NBA.
“Lachlan Olbrich played in the same scrimmage game as Maxime Raynaud. In fact, he was often paired up against the French prospect. Raynaud deservedly got plenty of praise, but I thought Olbrich was just as good while being younger and relatively more unknown. [...] I consider the 21-year-old to be a priority undrafted free agent right now with chances of moving up my board.”
Attended Reynella East College for the equivalent of his high school education. Played volleyball there in addition to basketball.
Signed for his hometown Adelaide 36ers on a ‘Developmental Player’ contract for the 2021-22 season after impressing in the Australian U-20 national championships. Appeared in 3 games during a total of 1.3 minutes, so basically nothing.
During this time, was a constant standout at the NBL1 Central level.
Was the Big West Freshman of the Year during his only college season at UC Riverside. Averaged 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds (2.5 OREB), 1.4 assists to 1.9 turnovers, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 27.9 minutes over 33 games.
Moved back to Australia after that and signed a three-year contract with the Illawarra Hawks in April 2023. Has two seasons of NBL experience under his belt. Not part of the NextStars program.
Was a draft prospect for FLOOR and CEILING as early as Sept. 2023. That was after he impressed at the NBL Blitz preseason event.
“Really pleasant surprise. On-court maturity was clear throughout all of his minutes. Never made a bad, sloppy, or rushed decision. Moved fluidly around the floor at his size and showed a relatively tight handle to create for himself and others. Easily ran handoffs, and was used as the trigger man. Reliable and sturdy on defense. Established himself on my radar big time, and this season is a great opportunity to get attention from NBA decision-makers keeping tabs on AJ Johnson.”
Head coach Justin Tatum said: "Lachie is a young, energetic, high-level kid whose ceiling is extremely high.”
Dominated the New Zealand NBL with the Canterbury Rams for the 2024 season. Averaged 20.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks to be named the league MVP. Won a championship and was named the finals MVP.
Plays for Australia national team.
Was a Milwaukee Bucks fan growing up.
Takeaway:
Lachlan Olbrich is a 21-year-old Australian who played for the Illawarra Hawks this season. He came off the bench and averaged 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.5 blocks in 16.6 minutes, helping the Hawks win their first NBL championship since 2001.
Olbrich is a unique passer and playmaker with flair and quick decision-making. He is one of the funnest players to watch in this year’s draft class. The Australian forward thrives in short rolls and always makes the right read quickly. Olbrich can also be used as a post-up hub to either score or create for others. He’s not the flashiest passer, but he makes the correct pass on time, and you can literally feel the team’s ball movement is better whenever he is on the court.
The 21-year-old can grab-and-go, push the pace, and make hit-ahead passes in transition. He always runs the floor hard, and has a great motor on both ends of the floor. The Hawks prospect is a tenacious offensive rebounder, although we rarely see put-backs from him due to his athletic limitations. Despite those athletic concerns, his at-rim finishing is relatively good, as he has decent touch and knows how to use the basket as a shield against the defender effectively.
Defensively, Olbrich has good instincts and knows when to rotate. The former UC Riverside forward is generally fine. He is somewhat switchable, though I have questions about his footspeed and lateral quickness. Olbrich is not tall or strong enough to hold up against better athletes — but he is an event creator, constantly drawing (selling) offensive fouls.
Olbrich is somewhat productive as a bench player in the NBL, but I have major questions about how his game can translate to the NBA. While he can score with his back to the basket in the Australian league, I don’t think that he is skilled or strong enough to score on NBA bigs who are taller and more athletic. Also, Olbrich can’t shoot from deep now. He made 9.1% (1/11) threes in 37 games last season. I wonder what Olbrich’s offensive role will be when/if he enters the NBA despite his creative passing/playmaking.
Defensively, the Australian probably also won’t contribute much at the next level. He is too small to be a small-ball 5, and I even think that he is too skinny to hold up against some physical 4s. If Olbrich is to guard wings, he probably is not quick enough. Will he be able to make up for those physical concerns with his motor and IQ?
Despite those concerns, I think there is a world where Olbrich sticks in the NBA, but that has to be in a team that knows how to use his unique skill-set. The Illawarra forward probably wouldn’t have been drafted in previous years, but the 2025 second round really thinned out.
Xiaohan Zhang, Harry, is a basketball lover studying anthropology in Hong Kong. He is dreaming of becoming a scout.
Article edited by Wilko Martínez-Cachero.
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