Adou Thiero’s summer has become one of the more intriguing side stories around a Lakers roster that looks nothing like last season’s group. The 36th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft didn’t get much runway as a rookie, but the early word is that he’s made real progress over the last two months.
Thiero, the Arkansas product whose two-way tools and athleticism made him a second-round name to watch, said a big part of that growth has come from the reps and conversations he’s had around Austin Reaves. And he didn’t mince words about what it’s like to defend him.
“AR is one of the best offensive players, you know, in the league. So, just being able to play defense against him, he’s so crafty; like, there are multiple different ways he can score.
Shooting into the rim, you know, floaters, little pull-ups. Even whenever he gets into his little foul baiting.
So just me being able to guard him like that’s setting me up to guard other good offensive players, too.”
That last part drew a laugh, and Thiero leaned right into the observation.
“No, I really got used to it whenever it’s game point or something, and he doesn’t even try to score sometimes. He’s just trying to get the foul call, and it’s like, ‘Damn.
Alright.’ Just picking up on that.”
It’s the kind of detail that says a lot about the daily work inside a team building around high-end creators like Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic. The offense gets the headlines, but the defensive growth can come from having to survive those matchups every day.
That’s where Thiero’s case gets interesting. He barely cracked the rotation last season, when LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Reaves soaked up most of the offensive load and left fewer openings for a rookie to force his way in. But the roster churn this offseason has changed the math.
Thiero sounded aware of that when he talked about his path to more minutes.
“I feel like I have a pretty great opportunity in front of me considering the guys that aren’t here anymore. Now, everybody’s still trying to figure out where to be at, so that gives me an opportunity to [fit] myself into that rotation.”
The Lakers have clearly gotten younger, and that shift matters for a player like Thiero. If the team is truly opening the door for younger pieces, he has a chance to step into a much larger role than the one he had as a rookie.
His numbers last season were modest: 6.0 minutes per game, 1.9 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 0.3 blocks. But the South Bay Lakers stint told a different story. In the G League, Thiero put up 15.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, a much clearer sign of what he can do when he’s given room to operate.
If the reports about his summer hold up, the 22-year-old could be on the verge of becoming a real piece in the Lakers’ wing mix. The preseason should give the clearest answer yet on how far that development has gone.
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