The Los Angeles Lakers have historically drafted well in the second round and the 2025 NBA Draft was no different as they were able to select Arkansas’ Adou Thiero with the No. 35 overall pick.
Thiero was considered to be a first-round talent, but he slipped in the draft due to health concerns. He suffered a knee injury in his final season with the Razorbacks and had a procedure to address it in the offseason. As a result, Thiero was forced to miss Summer League as well as portions of training camp.
However, the rookie was activated earlier during the 2025-26 season and has been spending most of his time down with South Bay. Playing in the G League allows Thiero to get consistent minutes and develop without the pressures of performing for the parent team.
After a recent practice, Thiero described how playing with South Bay has helped him ease back into the player he knows he can be.
“Just being able to get back to who I am, remembering who I was coming off this injury and being able to just get back up to speed with everything,” Thiero said.
While Thiero is slowly finding his rhythm and timing back, he admitted he feels like he can’t be 100 percent until he figures out how he fits on the Lakers.
“I still feel like, with trying to find where I fit on this team, I can’t really get back to that exact person but I could take some things from what I did in college and level up from there,” Thiero said.
The current roster is full of veterans who are deserving of minutes, so it’ll be hard for Thiero to crack the rotation unless more injuries mount. He’s seen stints here and there, with the athleticism popping off the screen though the lack of a jumper makes it more difficult stick.
As of now, the most important thing is to get Thiero healthy as the Lakers can’t afford more injuries. He might not be a major contributor this season, but he’s still got the upside to become a useful player down the line.
Adou Thiero gets game ball from NBA debut
Thiero made his Lakers debut in November against the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring four points and one rebound. For some reason, officials didn’t want to give the game ball to Thiero, though his teammates and Giannis Antetokounmpo secured it for him.
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