The Los Angeles Lakers announced rookie forward Adou Thiero is experiencing improvement in his knee swelling, which has allowed him to progress in his on-court activity. Thiero will continue to build his strength under the supervision of the performance team and will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks.
Thiero suffered the injury toward the end of his final season at Arkansas and returned to play sparingly in the NCAA Tournament. Head coach JJ Redick previously revealed the rookie underwent surgery for his knee prior to the 2025 NBA Draft, something that Arkansas didn’t disclose following the conclusion of their season.
The Lakers moved up twice in the draft to select Thiero 36th overall, but he was held out of NBA Summer League as he recovered from his procedure. The organization announced he would be ready for the start of training camp, but it appears the training staff wants to take their time ensuring the rookie is fully healthy.
While Thiero hasn’t been able to do much on the court, he did show off his athleticism in a recent video released by the Lakers. Redick was beyond impressed with Thiero’s athleticism, but cautioned that the team would be careful with him and his knee.
It’s disappointing that Thiero is missing preseason as these would be valuable reps for a young player. Although Los Angeles is high on his potential, there’s almost no chance Thiero sees any regular minutes in the 2025-26 season given the veterans on the bench.
However, he still makes for an intriguing long-term prospect as he graded out as one of the best pure athletes in his draft class. His leaping ability and explosiveness makes him a transition threat from day one, but it also gives him an edge on the defensive end. Offensively his jump shot is shaky, but the mold of a three-and-D player is there.
Slow playing Thiero’s recovery to ensure he’s 100 percent is the correct course of action for Los Angeles. It remains to be seen when he’ll actually debut on the court, but the organization is doing the right thing by Thiero.
Adou Thiero willing to play in G League
Normally, second-round picks like Adou Thiero will spend time with a team’s G League affiliate in order to get game reps in during the regular season. With the Lakers rotation looking set for the most part, Thiero will likely see time with the South Bay Lakers and he said he was willing to play in the G League.
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