Huskies Forward Hannes Steinbach Readies for Jump to NBA
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Washington Huskies forward Hannes Steinbach worked out for the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Credit: Red Box Pictures/Washington Athletics [/caption]
A couple of years ago, Hannes Steinbach realized he might be pretty good at basketball.
Since then, his game has taken him from professional ball in Würzburg, Germany, to the Washington Huskies and, soon, to a yet-to-be-determined NBA city. The experience playing for the Würzburg Baskets of the German Bundesliga made him realize his stop in Montlake could be brief. In his one-and-done season, Steinbach established himself as one of the top freshmen in the NCAA by leading the country with 22 double-doubles with averages of 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
Speaking to the media Thursday after a pre-draft workout with the Golden State Warriors, Steinbach talked about his whirlwind college career and preparing for Tuesday’s NBA Draft. When he arrived in Seattle a year ago, he knew his college career could be one-and-done.
“After I played BBL pro season and played good in the playoffs and played good in the U-19 World Cup, it was a thought on my mind,” said Steinbach, who turned 20 on May 1. “But then just seeing how I adjusted to college basketball, and then seeing how it all went.”
Projected as a mid-first-round pick, Steinbach left Seattle after a memorable few months. The 6-10, 248-pound forward led the nation in rebounding, and was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team while being named to the conference’s second team. Since declaring for the draft, he’s been working on his new role as an NBA big man.
He’s spoken with German compatriots Detlef Schrempf and Dirk Nowitzki, molding pieces of their games into his own. He’s continued to work on his outside shooting after attempting just 1.8 three-point shots per game last year, making a respectable 34.6%. An avid watcher of EuroLeague basketball, he’s learned more about the intricacies of NBA forwards.
“Shooting, of course, being able to space the floor,” Steinback said. “Like make people wide, being able to run fast pass off ball, and then just being able to rebound to win the possession game.”
Steinbach’s signing with UW was a little under-the-radar initially. He averaged 7.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 19 minutes per game of Bundesliga ball. He made his mark at the FIBA World Cup the summer before his arrival in Montlake. Steinbach led Germany to a runner-up finish with averages of 17.3 points and 13 rebounds while going up against the likes of Team USA’s AJ Dybansta, projected by many to be the first overall pick by the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.
Steinbach became a starter immediately at UW. Though not typically the first option on offense, he led a disappointing 16-17 UW team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots (1.3 per game). While Washington and other schools were rumored to offer Steinbach multi-million dollar revenue share/NIL deals to stay in school for another year, he decided to take his shot at the NBA after learning he’s a borderline draft lottery pick.
Yahoo Sports projects Steinbach to go 13th overall to Miami. CBS’ mock draft has Steinbach going 14th to Charlotte, while ESPN predicts the Bulls selecting him at No. 15. Golden State picks 11th.
Steinbach avoids getting caught up in thinking too much about where he’ll land next.
“It's tough to think about that,” he said. “I definitely want to go as high as I can, but just also like seeing the fit — like seeing teams I can play right away, contribute right away, and just being an option on a team.”
