Olbrich's Tribute: Bulls rookie dedicates jersey to late father

• Lachie Olbrich has signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls after being drafted
• Olbrich will play for the Bulls in Summer League, kicking off Friday July 11
• He joins former Illawarra Hawks teammate Will "Davo" Hickey on the squad

Lachy Olbrich didn’t hesitate when he decided to dedicate his new No.47 Chicago Bulls NBA singlet to his late father, he told Code Sports Basketball's Matt Logue in an exclusive chat.

Olbrich, who signed a two-way contract with the Bulls this week, fulfilled his lifelong basketball dream when the Bulls selected him with the 55th pick in this year’s draft and will see him take to the floor for the Bulls from tomorrow in the NBA's Summer League alongside former Hawks teammate Will "Davo" Hickey.

It was a memorable moment decades in the making – but one that wouldn’t have happened without the dedicated support of Lachy’s dad, Greg.

Sadly, Olbrich senior wasn’t in Brooklyn to see his son become a Bull. He passed away last year after suffering a cardiac arrest during a senior men’s basketball match at Morphett Vale Stadium in Adelaide, aged just 51.

Olbrich was a gun basketballer in his own right, having enjoyed a successful career for the Adelaide Giants and South Tigers, winning the Woollacott Medal in 1995 for the MVP in South Australia.

Read the full story at Code Sports Basketball here.

It’s why Lachy’s immediate thought after being drafted into the NBA wasn’t just about himself – it was honouring his father’s memory via his freshly minted No.47 Chicago singlet.

“When it came to picking the jersey number, I picked it for dad,” an emotional Olbrich told Code Sports.

“Within our family, it (47) is an inside thing and it would be a number that would always pop up out of nowhere.

“It has a lot of meaning about dad for our family.

“Waterworks were everywhere when I FaceTimed all my family after being drafted.

“Mum was crying her eyes out – it meant a lot.”

Olbrich is still in a state of shock that he has landed at one of the NBA’s most globally recognised franchises in the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls – coined basketball’s Beatles – put hoops on the global map in the 1990s when generational stars Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and won six championships following consecutive three-peats.

Legendary Australian big man Luc Longley was also the starting centre during Chicago’s title run from 1996 to 1998.

The Bulls franchise is currently home to Australian star Josh Giddey, so Olbrich couldn’t be happier to join the famed NBA club in the same year he collected an NBL title with the Illawarra Hawks.

“It has been pretty insane, man, it’s still feeling so surreal,” he said.

“I arrived in Chicago the day after the draft and was able to see the club’s facility and get a workout in.

“It’s like a high prestige club and I’ve got 24/7 access. I feel like coming from an NBL championship with Illawarra, I know what it takes and what it means to win a title.

“To know that the Bulls have a rich history of two three-peats – that is no joke.”

Olbrich has only been a Chicago Bull for four days, but he already feels like he is part of the furniture.

He credits this feeling to the incredibly supportive Bulls staff from coaches to staff and even the security at the entrance to the training facility.

Olbrich was greeted in Chicago with a “beautiful” apartment loaded with boxes of snacks, while his fridge was filled to the brim with Gatorade and water.

The club also baked special homemade cookies, with No.47 and Olbrich decorated on a Bull and there are red and white Bulls balloons everywhere.

Then there is the lavish locker room.

Olbrich has his own locker with his new Chicago singlet and a “million pairs of new shoes”.

“I mean, seeing all of this and what the Bulls are already doing for me in the first few days since landing,” he said.

“They’ve been really generous and they are acting like it’s nothing when I feel like I’m getting treated like royalty.”

Olbrich revealed he received a phone call from Giddey in the hours after being drafted to Chicago.

He hopes he receives the chance to share the court with his fellow Aussie and former NBL star.

“Josh thinks Chicago is a great situation for me and I agree wholeheartedly,” Olbrich said about Giddey, who played 70 NBA games for the Bulls last season and is in talks to extend his stay at the franchise on a lucrative $46 million-a-season deal.

“Hopefully I can get on the court at the same time as him and we can create a little Australian duo.

“It feels like the perfect opportunity for me and Josh agrees.”

Olbrich credits the “incredibly important” NBL pathway for helping him reach the NBA.

His time with Adelaide 36ers and Hawks helped him to master the basics, like his role and the team’s structure.