One of the biggest standouts for the Los Angeles Lakers in Summer League this year was Arthur Kaluma, who spent last season with their G League team after going undrafted out of Texas.
Kaluma was signed to an Exhibit 10 training camp contract with the Lakers, but they have decided they want to continue investing in his talent on a two-way deal, per Shams Charania of ESPN:
The Los Angeles Lakers are signing F Arthur Kaluma to a two-way NBA deal, Todd Ramasar and Mike Simonetta of Life Sports Agency tell ESPN. Kaluma, who spent 2025-26 in Lakers G League program, averaged nearly 19 points, 61% shooting and 50% on 3s in Las Vegas summer league.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 21, 2026
Kaluma impressed with his shooting in the Las Vegas Summer League, leading the Lakers with 18.6 points per game on 60.9 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from 3. Last season in South Bay, Kaluma appeared in 34 games averaging 14.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 54.5% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point range.
The Lakers have all three of their two-way spots occupied by returning player Chris Mañon, and undrafted free agents AK Okereke and Peter Suder. While Mañon isn’t going anywhere, Kaluma outplayed the other two in Summer League and one will now have to be waived as a result. Okereke would fill a similar role on the team as Kaluma, but Suder had the worst showing of the bunch this summer and was not in the rotation for their semifinal matchup in Las Vegas.
After an offseason of roster overhaul, the Lakers will head into the 2026-27 season with a lot more depth than previous years, and that even extends to their two-way players with Kaluma and Mañon having the potential to battle for minutes in training camp. While the power forward position is still L.A.’s biggest need, Kaluma gives them some valuable depth if they can’t land anyone.
Arthurd Kaluma discusses breakout Summer League for Lakers
Kaluma breakout performance of the Las Vegas Summer League came when he scored 34 points against the Dallas Mavericks, a game that helped land him this new contract.
After that win, he discussed the strides he has made to land this deal.
“I feel like I’ve been able to move my feet a lot better on defense, my shot obviously feels good,” Kaluma said. “But my understanding of the game after having a year of it under my belt, I feel a lot more comfortable out there.”
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