The Las Vegas Summer League was a great experience for the Los Angeles Lakers as they made it to the semifinals before ultimately losing to the Golden State Warriors. There were some intriguing names on the roster to follow, including center Robbie Avila, a man of many nicknames.
He was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract after going undrafted but did not see much playing time in the California Classic or Las Vegas. Avila only appeared in two games, averaging eight minutes a contest and coming out of Summer League he appears to be weighing his options, even contemplating a return to college for a fifth season, via college basketball insider Adam Zagoria:
Former Saint Louis big man Robbie Avila, known as 'Cream Abdul Jabbar, is waiting to see what his options are after he was granted a 5th year, per sources
Portal opens Aug. 3-10
The 6-10 F averaged 12.8 ppg and 4.5 rpg before signing an Exhibit-10 with the L.A. Lakers. pic.twitter.com/LlPq4WVDaU
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) August 1, 2026
Across those two appearances, Avila put up 1.0 points and 0.5 rebounds on 16.7% from the field, not getting much of a opportunity for L.A. Unfortunately, it does not look like he is NBA-ready, and perhaps a return to the NCAA would suit him best to further develop.
If the St. Louis product wants to be a mainstay in the NBA, he needs to round out his game. Playing center at a professional level requires physicality and strength, which Avila currently lacks.
Additionally, he lacks size to be a big at 6’10” and does not have the foot speed to keep up with power forwards. All in all, Avila is an unfinished product and needs more in-game experience. If an opportunity presents itself to stick around in the G League, perhaps Avila believes that will be a better option as opposed to college, although he can probably make more money in NIL this upcoming season.
Lakers added Arthur Kaluma on two-way contract
A player who made a name for himself for the Lakers during Summer League was Arthur Kaluma, who was an undrafted forward who signed an Exhibit 10 contract. Notably, he spent all of last season with the South Bay Lakers and those reps appeared to pay major dividends in Summer League.
After averaging 18.6 points on 60.9% from the field and 50% from 3-point range in Las Vegas, the Lakers took notice of his play. Ultimately, they rewarded him with a two-way contract and that meant Peter Suder was a casualty to create space for Kaluma.
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