The Los Angeles Lakers began the draft with only the 55th overall pick but were able to swing a pair of trades in order to move up to No. 36 where they selected Arkansas wing Adou Thiero. While many expected the Lakers to take a center, the team went with the extremely athletic wing who thrives on the defensive end and has potential to develop into a solid 3-point shooter.
But defense is where Thiero makes his calling and the young wing already understands that. He averaged 1.6 steals per game last year with the Razorbacks while also having a number of highlight reel blocks, and he doesn’t just rely on his athleticism to be a defensive menace either.
When asked which players he models his game after, Thiero revealed that it isn’t scorers he studies, but top-level defenders such as OG Anunoby of the New York Knicks and Jrue Holiday of the Portland Trail Blazers that he tries to learn from, via Spectrum SportNet:
“I watch a lot of defenders. Trying to pick up on what they do in the league, that’s a different level. It’s a lot of different stuff offensive players do in the league, so just trying to pick up off of OG Anunoby, Jrue Holiday, he’s a great defender. Just picking up on what they do, watching how they play defense.”
This is an excellent sign in that Thiero knows where his strengths lie and where he can immediately make an impact at the NBA level. He understands his potential to be a lockdown defender and is already studying the best such as Holiday and Anunoby in order to pick up what makes them so special on that end of the floor.
This era of the NBA is built primarily around wings and guards and having players who can make life difficult on them is essential to success. Someone like Thiero can have a long career if he puts in the work and from the sounds of it, he has long been doing his homework on how to be a lockdown defender for the Lakers.
Adou Thiero calls it a ‘dream come true’ to be drafted by Lakers
To be drafted to the NBA is always such a dream for most and Adou Thiero is no exception as he described his feelings shortly after being selected by the Lakers.
“It feels good, dream come true. Just happy to be here,” Thiero said. “Playing for the Lakers too, that’s a blessing for sure.”
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