John Calipari sends warning to NBA teams to not pass on Adou Thiero

The 2025 NBA Draft is only six days away, and Arkansas head coach John Calipari is still working to get his players drafted as early as possible. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, Calipari explained why NBA teams shouldn’t miss out on drafting Adou Thiero.

“If anybody misses that, it’s going to be like they missed on — you ready — Immanuel Quickley,” Calipari said. “Adou Thiero is a first-round draft pick and I’m going to tell you why. I love the physicalness of the league right now. I love it because you got to work to get a basket. It ain’t H.O.R.S.E. anymore.

“… 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?'”

Despite being named the 2020 SEC Player of the Year by league coaches, Immanuel Quickley wasn’t drafted until the No. 25 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Since then, Quickley has outperformed many of the players who were drafted before him. He averaged 17.1 points per game this past season.

Evidently, Calipari expects Thiero to find similar success at the next level. In fairness, the 66-year-old head coach would know. Thiero spent three years under Calipari, two at Kentucky and one at Arkansas.

In his lone campaign with the Razorbacks, Thiero made 27 appearances and 26 starts. The 6-foot-8 junior averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 54.5% from the field and 25.6% from beyond the arc.

It was a major jump for Thiero, who had only averaged 7.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game during his sophomore season at Kentucky. Thiero’s efforts at Arkansas boosted the Razorbacks to a run to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.

Calipari isn’t the only believer in Thiero. Ahead of the NBA Draft, RotoWire.com wrote a complimentary analysis of Thiero’s game for NBA.com.

“Standing at 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot wingspan, Thiero possesses ideal size, length and athleticism for a forward in the modern NBA,” the analysis read. “He is an aggressive offensive rebounder and has the ability to consistently finish above the rim. Thiero is also a menace on the defensive end, as he proficiently uses his length to create turnovers and erase shots at the rim.

“… Thiero’s ceiling will ultimately be decided by how his 3-point shot develops, but his elite athleticism and impressive length give him a solid floor as an impactful defender who can crash the glass and finish at the rim.”