Arkansas' Thiero hears name called in the second round, heads to Lakers

Thiero spent three seasons in total in college, all under coach John Calipari with the first two at Kentucky before making the transition with Calipari to Arkansas. In his final season, Thiero set a career-high in minutes per game and doubled his scoring output from 7.2 to 15.1.

He set a new career-high twice with 26 points against Illinois, before matching it a few weeks later against UTSA in a non-conference game inside Bud Walton Arena

Listed at 6-foot-8, Thiero is a solid rebounder for his size. He led the team averaging a team high 5.8 rebounds per game, including a season-high 11 against Georgia. He also averaged over five rebounds in his final season at Kentucky.

The Lakers get a two-way player that gives the Lakers some much-needed wing help. On the defensive end, Thiero averaged 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks.

He is the 48th pick in school history and the first in two seasons when a trio of Razorbacks were picked in 2023 (Anthony Black, Nick Smith Jr. and Jordan Walsh).

Thiero had been projected in most mock drafts as a potential late first-round draft pick but Wednesday came and went without NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called Thiero's name.

It ended a streak of 17 straight seasons of at least one first round pick every year under Calipari, but Thiero becomes the 62nd player drafted under Calipari's 32-year head coaching career.

Thiero's mom now holds bragging rights as the highest draft pick within the family. She was picked three picks ahead of her son in the 2006 WNBA Draft with the 33rd pick by the Washington Mystics.

The former Arkansas wing is now on the same team as Lebron James and Luka Doncic as a Los Angeles Laker. The Lakers finished the 2025 season with the third-best record in the Western Conference at 50-32 but crashed out in the first round of the playoffs in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Thiero joins one of the most successful franchises in NBA history with 17 titles, second only to the Boston Celtics with 18. The Lakers most recent title came in 2020 during the abbreviated COVID-19 season.

The pick originally belonged to the Brooklyn Nets but changed hands a few times before the Lakers moved up, specifically targeting Theiro, according to ESPN's Shams Charania on the broadcast.

The Lakers originally held the No. 55 overall pick, but the Lakers moved up a total of 19 spots to draft Thiero. Barring another trade, Thiero will be the only pick in the class. He is the Lakers first draft pick since the Lakers took Bronny James, Lebron James' son with the 55th pick in the 2024 draft.

Thiero is expected to be the only Razorback to be drafted in this year's draft. The remainder of the second round will be broadcast on ESPN.

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