PHOTO: Bildbyrån
During Thursday night’s NBA draft, Swedish basketball history was written.
Two Swedes – Bobi Klintman and Pelle Larsson – were both drafted in the second round.
– It means everything, says Klintman in ESPN’s broadcast.
Previously, only three Swedes were drafted in total, Jonas Jerebko (39th, 2009), Jeffery Taylor (31st, 2012) and Marcus Eriksson (50th, 2015). Never before have two Swedes been drafted in the same year.
Until now.
Swedish Bobby Klintman was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the 37th, but according to American ESPN, looks to go third directly to the Detroit Pistons. This makes him the second highest drafted Swede ever.
The article continues below.
The 21-year-old was ranked high before the draft, and looked to have a chance to be drafted in the first round. But it didn’t happen that way, and Klintman instead had to wait a few extra hours before the news finally came that he had been drafted.
– That means everything. To be a role model for the children and do it for the country and the city that I come from. It’s huge and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” Klintman said on ESPN’s broadcast.
Just over half an hour later, it was time for the next Swede to be presented in the draft.
23-year-old Pelle Larsson was drafted 44th by the Houston Rockets, but like Klintman, Larsson is expected to be traded directly to the Miami Heat.
The duo thus wrote Swedish basketball history when two Swedes were drafted in the same year. Klintman previously played his basketball in the Australian Cairns Taipans. Pelle Larsson, on the other hand, has played college basketball, in the Arizona Wildcats.
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