Much of the discussion following the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the San Antonio Spurs centered around rookie Dalton Knecht being re-inserted into the starting lineup and responding with another strong performance. But another Lakers rookie, undrafted French forward Armel Traoré, who is on a two-way contract, also had a very memorable night.
With under two minutes remaining, Traoré had a nice drive that showed off his handle and then finished a very tough hook shot over Spurs big man Charles Bassey for his first career NBA points. It is something that will always be remembered by Traoré with teammates such as D’Angelo Russell and Max Christie showering him with praise on the court.
Afterwards, Traoré took to social media, expressing his excitement at his first NBA bucket. The Lakers rookie said he was blessed, before acknowledging that now he has to keep putting in the work:
Bringing back the W from Texas and
first official bucket as a NBA Player ! #LakeShow💛💜 #RIPGPA🤍🕊️ #AlHamdoulilah pic.twitter.com/emix4P6OuI— Armel Traoré (@Armel_Traor35) November 28, 2024
I’m blessed and thankful 🙏🏽
Now time to put the work in and stay the course ! #LakeShow💛💜 #FOE🤞🏽 https://t.co/UzIrS1ajfb— Armel Traoré (@Armel_Traor35) November 28, 2024
Traoré is the least known of all the Lakers rookies as Knecht is already playing a big role and Bronny James is more popular than basically every other rookie in the NBA. Even with the others on two-way contracts, Christian Koloko has been forced into action due to injury while Quincy Olivari was the star of the preseason.
But Traoré has quietly gone about his business, working hard and developing down in the G League with the South Bay Lakers. In five games with South Bay, Traore is averaging 16.8 points and a team-high 10.6 rebounds along with 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks.
Listed at 6’8 and 215 pounds, Traoré is a bit undersized as a big man, but makes up for it with his energy, activity and athleticism. This was the first big moment in Traoré’s career, but based on early returns it won’t be the last as he will continue to put in all the necessary work to carve out a role for himself with the Lakers or elsewhere in the NBA.
D’Angelo Russell appreciates Lakers teammate Max Christie’s desire to be coached
The development of the Lakers’ young players is something to keep an eye on and one of the most important is Max Christie. After a rough start to the season Christie is looking more like the player the Lakers hoped he would be coming into the season.
Christie’s teammates very much believe in him as well with D’Angelo Russell speaking about loving Christie’s desire to be coached and wanting to learn. Russell added that it isn’t easy being in Christie’s position under this microscope of playing for the Lakers but feels the young wing is doing better at not overthinking things.
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