BIO: Lachlan Olbrich was born in Adelaide (SA) and attended Reynella East College. He began playing basketball as a junior with the Southern basketball program and represented SA Metro in both 2020 and 2021 National Championships. He was also a part of South Australia’s state squad at the 2021 U20’s National Championships. There he led the team to a bronze medal, led the event in steals per game (2.4) and was third in overall rebounds (8.8 per game).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Lachlan Olbrich made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Adelaide started the season by adding Mitch McCarron (via Melbourne), Filipino NBA prospect Kai Sotto and Cairns backup guard duo Tad Dufelmeier, and disgruntled Next Star Mojave King, who fled the Taipans due to feeling his lack of playing time was hurting his NBA chances. Imports Dusty Hannahs and Todd Withers were signed to round out the core roster, and then, in a surprise move, Adelaide chose to release coach Connor Henry despite a year remaining on his contract. CJ Bruton, who had just missed on the Brisbane Bullets head coaching role to James Duncan and was one of the few coaches available at the time, was signed as his replacement and took over the team only weeks before the opening game. With the team almost completed, Bruton added Hyrum Harris (also via Cairns) and Cam Bairstow, who, after multiple injury-plagued seasons, drew zero offers from other NBL teams. Bruton, having worked closely with Bairstow in Brisbane, convinced the big man to come to Adelaide and try to revitalise his career.

29-year-old Mitch McCarron (7.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.9 steals) was selected as the new 36ers captain and positioned as the club’s franchise player moving forward. The Sixers came away winless from round one, losing to Perth (85–73) and Illawarra (71–81) before rebounding in round two to record wins against Tasmania (83-80) and New Zealand (98–85), this would see them reach sixth place (2-2) on the ladder, the highest ranking for the season and only round where they did not have a losing record.

Adelaide would lose Isaac Humphries (7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds in 17.7 minutes) to a knee injury that ruled him out for the season the following round, with the former NBA big man managing only six games for the season. Without Humphries, a reinvigorated Bairstow (11.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) would deliver the best season of his NBL career before also going down to a late-season ankle injury that would ultimately end his NBL career.

With a month remaining in the season and underwhelming seasons from imports Dusty Hannahs (13.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) and Todd Withers (8.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists), Adelaide (7-17) had no chance of making the playoffs and managed to close out the season with some kind of success. Adelaide came close to reeling off four consecutive away wins to end the season, only losing a close one to the Phoenix (91-94) and finished the season for the third consecutive year in seventh position (10-18).

Daniel Johnson (16.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) would lead the 36ers in scoring and collect his second consecutive Mark Davis Award as the club’s Most Valuable Player while bright spots for the team included Hyrum Harris (4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists), who was voted as the club’s Most Improved Player and Sunday Dech (12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists), who became a solid contributor in his second year at the 36ers.

As a development player Olbrich appeared in only three games, failing to score a basket.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS
2023/24
After a glut of player injuries, Illawarra compiled their worst record in NBL history (3-25), the Hawks were looking for a fresh start in Jacob Jackomas‘ second year as head coach.

Thanks to Perth wanting to move on from veteran Todd Blanchfield, and being happy to cover part of his remaining contract, the Hawks were able to acquire him in a buy-out. With an eye towards the future, young talent Mason Peatling (via Melbourne), Biwali Bayles (via Sydney) and former Adelaide 36ers development player, Lachlan Olbrich (via NCAA) were signed.

Olbrich became a hot target for the Hawks after a pre-season game in March 2023, where his UC Riverside squad faced the Hawks in a game where he left a lasting impression on the organisation, scoring 19 points and 10 rebounds. Illawarra wasted not time after that and he was signed to a three-year deal a few weeks later.

“Lachlan has been a player we have watched with a real interest in the last six months, and we are delighted to welcome him to the Hawks family,” Hawks GM of Basketball Mat Campbell said.

“He has great size and length, and we love his aggressiveness. We were looking to add some front-court depth to the roster, and Lachlan’s signing is a great outcome for the NBL24 season and beyond.”

At the same time, Korean shooter Hyunjung Lee was signed using the NBL’s ‘Asian player’ rule and NBA prospect AJ Johnson was brought in under the NBL’s Next Stars Program. Import Justin Robinson, who managed just one game before suffering a season-ending injury in 2022, returned to full health, and NBA veteran Gary Clark signed as the team’s third import. Long-serving import Tyler Harvey, captain Sam Froling and guards Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, William “Davo” Hickey and Daniel Grida returned as the Hawk’s core group.

Illawarra showed promising signs during the pre-season, but once the regular season got underway, Illawarra seemed to revert to its old ways, continuing to produce disappointing losses.

Despite solid performances on the court from the likes of Clark (17 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists), Froling (15.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) and Harvey (15.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals), Illawarra struggled to find its foot early in the season. Hyun-Jung and Peatling began the year under an injury cloud.

By October, the Hawks were sitting at 2-4 with wins against South East Melbourne and Cairns. Illawarra suffered two more brutal defeats in the next month against Sydney and Cairns, which resulted in the team and Jackomas parting ways. Whilst the Hawks looked for a replacement, assistant Justin Tatum stepped up as interim coach.

Once Tatum arrived, they were able to turn things around and won four of their next six games. A knee sidelined Grida (5.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.4 assists) after ten games, but thanks to the emergence of Will Hickey (5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and the signing of former South East Melbourne guard Kyle Adnam as an injury replacement, the Hawks continued to their winning form without missing a beat.

Despite the challenges, the Hawks continued to deliver wins under Tatum, and a late-season charge saw Illawarra finish the regular season in fourth place (14-14).

Illawarra saw a massive improvement in scoring. In the 2022/23 season, the Hawks ranked last for average points with 80.8 points per game. However, this season, they increased their offensive output to 91.6 points per game, enough to finish fourth in the league.

After making the play-in tournament, Illawarra would lose to Tasmania (92-76) in the opening game but turned things around to defeat New Zealand in a nailbiter (88-85), which earned them a spot in the semi-finals against Melbourne.

In game one, despite a solid first half by the Hawks, United would make a dramatic comeback, forcing the game into overtime and won the opening game 115-106.

Illawarra levelled the series, pushing it to a decider after defeating United in a thriller by five points. However, the Hawk’s dream run came up short, missing a Grand Final berth by six points.

Clark would deliver several big-time offensive performances, including his season-high 38 points against Cairns, which saw him voted as the Hawk’s Club MVP and be selected to the All-NBL First Team.

Olbrich would impress during his second year in the league, appearing in 31 games and averaging 3.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.7 assists.

Lachlan Olbrich currently plays for the Illawarra Hawks and has played 39 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.7 assists since entering the league in 2021.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Illawarra Hawks – 3 Year Deal (2023-26)

Dan Boyce (811 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.