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John Calipari's Warning Regarding Lakers' Draft Pick Resurfaces

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gautam Varier | Last updated Jun 27, 2025 11:56 AM ET

The second round of the 2025 NBA Draft is now in the books, and the Los Angeles Lakers proved to be one of the busiest teams on Thursday. At first, the Lakers had the 55th pick in the draft, but they decided to move up to 45 by trading their selection and cash considerations to the Chicago Bulls.

The Lakers then moved up again to 36 by trading that pick and cash to the Minnesota Timberwolves to select Adou Thiero. Thiero had spent his first two college seasons at Kentucky but then chose to follow head coach John Calipari by transferring to Arkansas in 2024.

Thiero had a fine junior season with the Razorbacks under Calipari, averaging 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game in 2024-25.

Thiero is an explosive athlete who excels at finishing at the rim and could potentially develop into a very good defender in the NBA as well. The 21-year-old was expected to be a late first-round pick, but didn't have his name called on Wednesday.

Thiero's struggles when it comes to outside shooting might have contributed to that. He shot just 25.6% from beyond the arc for Arkansas, and teams do tend to look past non-shooters from time to time.

Calipari probably thinks all those teams made a big mistake, though, as his comments regarding Thiero on "The Pat McAfee Show" from June 19 resurfaced on Thursday.

John Calipari on Adou Thiero:

“He’s one of those kids who will cause people to look back and ask why so many people passed on him. And he’s a good kid!”

A lot of people had 1st round grades on him before his knee injury. If he returns to full health, the Lakers may have just… pic.twitter.com/4Bwx98SxY4
— Hardwood Junkies (@hardwoodjunkies) June 27, 2025

According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, one NBA scout has this to say about Thiero:

"Has the physical tools," the scout said. "Downhill attacker who can slash and finish above the rim, jump shot has to improve but showed improvement over the past year. Has the potential to defend both wings...Can get deflections and steals with his length."

Time will tell if the Lakers just landed the biggest steal of the draft or if teams were right not to consider Thiero as a first-round pick.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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