Los Angeles Lakers second-round draft pick Adou Thiero spent his first two collegiate seasons at the University of Kentucky before transferring to Arkansas for his final year. The reason he left was to follow head coach John Calipari, one of the best college coaches of this generation, who left the Wildcats to take the job at Arkansas.
Calipari has sent countless players to the NBA, including current Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt and former Lakers such as Anthony Davis, Julius Randle and Malik Monk. Calipari has always backed his players going into the draft and once they’re in the NBA, and Thiero was no different.
In a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show prior to the 2025 NBA Draft, Calipari explained why the newest Lakers rookie is a first-round draft talent and warned that teams who pass on him will regret it:
“Adou Thiero. If anybody misses that, it’s gonna be like they missed on, you ready? Immanuel Quickley… Adou Thiero is a first-round draft pick and I’m gonna tell you why. The league, I love the physicalness of the league right now, I love it. Because you gotta work to get a basket, it ain’t HORSE anymore. You gotta get, and someone better screen because the guy’s holding like that, I mean all that stuff. Adou can play in a physical game and athletically be in the top 1%. He’s somebody if you pass on they’ll look back and say ‘how many people passed on him?’ He’s that good, and a good kid from Pittsburgh.”
Calipari has always maintained great relationships with his players and speaks extremely highly of all of them in the media, so his words on Thiero should be no surprise. He does make a very good point about the increased physicality of the NBA game, however. Players must be able to handle that and physically and athletically, Thiero checks out as someone who can.
Thiero’s potential on the defensive end is immense and he is someone who can make an immediate impact for the Lakers on that end of the floor while developing his offensive game, particularly his 3-point shooting ability. Calipari has worked with him up close for many years, so if anyone knows what he is capable of it is the Razorbacks coach.
Rob Pelinka says Lakers had first-round grade on Adou Thiero
John Calipari called Adou Thiero a first-round draft pick and the Lakers agreed as Rob Pelinka revealed that the front office also had a first-round grade on the Arkansas forward.
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