11
Apr
Aussies in the NBA
Lachlan Olbrich turns Bulls chance into NBA audition
Leonard Miller #11 and Australian Lachlan Olbrich #47 of the Chicago Bulls celebrate after scoring against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of the NBA game at Mortgage Matchup Center on March 6, 2026 (AEST) in Phoenix, Arizona. The Bulls defeated the Suns 105-103. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Lachlan Olbrich is turning late-season Bulls minutes into a real NBA audition after strong G League
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Minutes are gold dust for rookies taken in the second round of the NBA Draft and Australian forward Lachlan Olbrich is making the most of his, averaging a little over 13 per game in the Chicago Bulls' last nine as they limp to the end of another disappointing season.
Olbrich, 22, was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th pick in 2025 and traded to the Bulls, who designated the Australian 2.03m forward as a two-way player with G League affiliate Windy City Bulls.
"Honestly, not to sound cliché, but I’m kind of living it," Olbrich told the Chicago Bulls when asked what his basketball dream was.
"Being in the NBA has been a dream my entire life.
"Now it’s about staying here, expanding on everything, making a role for myself, making a name for myself, and being a winner."
The NBL25 champion with the Illawarra Hawks played a combined +38 minutes in back-to-back Bulls wins against the Washington Wizards this week, scoring nine points, pulling down 14 boards, three assists, three blocks, a pair of steals without any turnovers.
Lachlan Olbrich’s last five NBA games
+----+------------+----------+------+--------+------+-----+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| No | Date | Opponent | Res | Min | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | +/- |
+----+------------+----------+------+--------+------+-----+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| 31 | 2026-04-01 | IND | L | 17:16 | 4-8 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | +5 |
| 32 | 2026-04-03 | @ NYK | L | 11:06 | 3-6 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | +1 |
| 33 | 2026-04-05 | PHO | L | 16:23 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| 34 | 2026-04-07 | @ WAS | W | 21:08 | 3-6 | 0-1 | 1-4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | +17 |
| 35 | 2026-04-09 | @ WAS | W | 17:16 | 1-6 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +1 |
+----+------------+----------+------+--------+------+-----+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+The Bulls launched into the 2025-26 season 6-0 but have stumbled to a 31-49 record and were eliminated from the 2026 playoffs early.
The six-time Michael Jordan NBA champions were better with Australian point guard Josh Giddey in the line-up – 21-33 – but he has played just 54 of the Bulls 80 games, hampered by a hamstring strain against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 30, 2025.
Giddey, 23, has played in one of the Bulls past five, leaving a 17.0 points per game, 8.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists hole in the Central Division ball club's roster.
The NBA is a next-man-up league and along with Giddey starting centre Nick Richards and back-up Guerschon Yabusele out as well as starting power forward Matas Buzelis also out means Olbrich is the next man up.
Lachlan Olbrich’s 2025–26 Chicago Bulls games
2.1 PPG │ 2.5 RPG │ 0.8 APG │ 46.0 FG%
+----+------------+----------+------+--------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| No | Date | Opponent | Res | Min | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
+----+------------+----------+------+--------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| 1 | 2025-11-29 | IND | L | 11:02 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | 2025-12-01 | ORL | L | 12:01 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | 2025-12-03 | BRK | L | 06:48 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | 2025-12-05 | IND | L | 01:14 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 2025-12-07 | GSW | L | 04:50 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 2026-01-05 | BOS | L | 11:39 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | 2026-01-07 | DET | L | 15:53 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | 2026-01-10 | DAL | W | 02:47 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 2026-01-18 | BRK | W | 02:46 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 2026-01-20 | LAC | W | 03:43 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | 2026-01-26 | LAL | L | 00:53 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 2026-01-31 | MIA | W | 08:09 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 13 | 2026-02-01 | MIA | L | 11:01 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 4-6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| 14 | 2026-02-03 | MIL | L | 16:29 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 15 | 2026-02-05 | TOR | L | 04:05 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 2026-02-07 | DEN | L | 02:32 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 2026-02-11 | BOS | L | 05:29 | 3-4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 18 | 2026-02-24 | CHO | L | 02:59 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 2026-03-01 | MIL | W | 00:56 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 2026-03-03 | OKC | L | 02:51 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | 2026-03-05 | PHO | W | 17:03 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 22 | 2026-03-12 | LAL | L | 06:17 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 23 | 2026-03-13 | LAC | L | 00:27 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | 2026-03-16 | MEM | W | 02:28 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | 2026-03-18 | TOR | L | 08:09 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | 2026-03-25 | PHI | L | 06:07 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 27 | 2026-03-27 | OKC | L | 02:46 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 28 | 2026-03-28 | MEM | L | 22:27 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 4-8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| 29 | 2026-03-30 | SAS | L | 03:44 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | 2026-04-01 | IND | L | 17:16 | 4-8 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 31 | 2026-04-03 | NYK | L | 11:06 | 3-6 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 32 | 2026-04-05 | PHO | L | 16:23 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 33 | 2026-04-07 | WAS | W | 21:08 | 3-6 | 0-1 | 1-4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 34 | 2026-04-09 | WAS | W | 17:16 | 1-6 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
+----+------------+----------+------+--------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| 35 | Season Tot | 35 games | 9-26 | 280:00 |29-63| 2-16|13-34| 35 | 53 | 88 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 46 | 73 |
+----+------------+----------+------+--------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+South Australian Olbrich is soaking in his first professional season in Illinois, relishing the chance to play in the United Center, which has a statue of one of his idols Jordan out the front.
"The atmosphere I’ve seen in videos of the (United Center) looks unreal," he said before getting his first opportunity.
"I’ve got nothing to compare it to because I think max capacity at my last stadium was around 6–7,000, and now it’s like… what’s the capacity, like 15–20?
" It’s going to be crazy. I know Bulls fans get all out, so really looking forward to it."
Who is on Olbrich's NBA Mount Rushmore?
It’s got to be MJ — everything, rings, performance, the stories," he revealed.
"Watching The Last Dance and hearing about some of it, it’s crazy. So MJ, Kobe — love Kobe — LeBron obviously, and I’m going to do a hot take and say Giannis because he’s a player I watched growing up a lot."
He earned the trust of Bulls head coach Billy Donovan with stand-out season in the G League.
Lachlan Olbrich’s 2025–26 G League numbers
+----------------------+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Competition | GP | MIN | PTS | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | TOV | STL | BLK | PF | +/- |
+----------------------+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Tip-Off Tournament | 11 | 31.1 | 20.2 | 7.4 | 12.3 | 60.0 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 36.4 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 81.6 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 8.6 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| Regular Season | 7 | 32.0 | 17.6 | 7.3 | 12.6 | 58.0 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 22.7 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 57.9 | 2.6 | 6.1 | 8.7 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 2.4 | -8.3 |
+----------------------+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------++------------------------------+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Split | GP | MIN | PTS | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | TOV | STL | BLK | PF | +/- |
+------------------------------+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Tip-Off Tournament – Home | 5 | 29.1 | 18.2 | 6.2 | 11.4 | 54.4 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 30.0 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 83.3 | 4.2 | 6.0 | 10.2 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 6.6 |
| Tip-Off Tournament – Road | 6 | 32.8 | 21.8 | 8.3 | 13.0 | 64.1 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 41.7 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 80.0 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 7.3 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 3.3 | -0.8 |
| Regular Season – Home | 6 | 32.1 | 17.8 | 7.2 | 12.7 | 56.6 | 0.8 | 3.5 | 23.8 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 57.9 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 4.8 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.3 | -7.7 |
| Regular Season – Road | 1 | 31.5 | 16.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | -12.0|
+------------------------------+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+Snapshot
- Tip-Off Tournament: 20.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists on 60.0% shooting.
- Regular Season: 17.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists on 58.0% shooting.
- He had 3 double-doubles and 1 triple-double in the Tip-Off Tournament, plus three double-doubles in the regular season.
What the 2026-27 season holds for Olbrich is a story yet to be told but in the meantime, he's focused on developing his game and earning more minutes.
"Just to be a sponge — absorb everything around you," Olbrich said.
"Control your controllables. That’s the way I try to live my life right now. If I control what I can and I’m open to learning, I’ll keep getting better.
"I’m so fortunate to play basketball for my work and do something I love."
