How Adou Thiero is adjusting to Lakers rookie season

The Los Angeles Lakers came into the 2025 NBA Draft without a first-round pick, but by the end of the night, they felt like they had a first-round talent on their hands. The Lakers traded up in the NBA Draft to select Adou Thiero with the No. 36 overall pick, and during a post-draft segment with Spectrum Sports, general manager Rob Pelinka explained that the team’s scouting staff had projected Thiero as a top talent.

Pelinka stressed the need to get younger and more athletic on the wings, and Thiero certainly fit that description. He also mentioned how Thiero’s profile is specifically a good fit alongside the team’s star of the future, Luka Doncic.

“Being able to get a player like Adou, who can catch lobs from the corner when Luka is making paint decisions, I think is going to be really special,” Pelinka said following the draft. “He’s just big, big shoulders, big chest, a guy that’s going to play defense and add some physicality and some athleticism to our roster.”

Unfortunately for Adou Thiero, his rookie debut with the Lakers was delayed as he was still recovering from a knee injury. He suffered the injury during his final season at Arkansas, and it kept him out for summer league, all of training camp and preseason.

He wasn’t cleared to return to court until mid-November, and he made his NBA debut on Nov. 15 during the Lakers’ win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Thiero scored his first career points that game, and the team had to go through quite the hassle to secure the game ball for him. It was Doncic who ultimately presented the ball to Thiero, something he initially didn’t believe was for him.

“At first, I didn’t know they were getting the ball for me. I thought Luka had done something, some Luka magic. I thought he was just trying to get the game ball for himself. Everyone was just trying to get him the game ball,” Thiero told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “He walked around, dapping everybody up, and then gave me the game ball. It was just a great feeling.”

“I’m getting the game ball from my first NBA game from Luka Doncic. That’s not something that a lot of people, a lot of rookies get to go through,” Thiero continued. “Just to have teammates like that to go and get the ball for me and make sure I got my first NBA ball I scored with, that was big. That’s cool.”

Adou Thiero getting reps with South Bay Lakers

While Adou Thiero has already appeared in a handful of games during his rookie season with the Lakers, he will also get time in the G League with the Lakers’ South Bay affiliate. The Lakers used the G League to get Bronny James development reps last season, and he looked more confident as the year progressed.

With each NBA team having an affiliate, the G League has become a proving ground of sorts for young NBA players when playing time has been scarce with the regular roster. Thiero made his G League debut on Nov. 21 and finished with 19 points, four rebounds and three steals while looking like the best player on the court.

It’s with South Bay that Thiero will be able to sharpen the skills that made him an attractive prospect for the Lakers.

Thiero is a natural wing, but in the games he’s played with South Bay, he’s displayed the ability to handle the ball and be a playmaker. In only his second game in the G League, he dished out four assists, which was second on the team behind only Bronny James, who is a natural point guard.

He won’t always get the opportunity to handle the ball with the Lakers, but South Bay allows him to get reps with the ball in his hands.

“I used to play point guard my whole life, so I still have those tendencies,” Thiero said. “But it’s just knowing whenever I got two on me, or just knowing where the open guy is going to be, just getting that ball to my teammates. I trust them to knock down the shot or make the next play.”

Thiero has appeared in three games with South Bay so far, giving him a decent sense of the level of competition in the G League. It’s not always an easy place for young NBA players to play in.

“Everybody’s trying to prove something or trying to make their way back to that original team roster,” Thiero said.” You’ve got to bring it every game cause on the other side, they’re definitely bringing it and trying to prove themselves too.”

Adou Thiero’s Lakers opportunity

The Lakers have suffered through multiple injuries this season, and following Thiero’s assignment in the G League, he was called into immediate action during the team’s long road trip to begin December. There was one game in particular, the Lakers’ win against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 4, in which he showed flashes of why the organization drafted him.

Thiero only finished with four points, one rebound, one assist and one steal in 10 minutes, but he displayed the type of athleticism and defensive intensity that the Lakers have needed this season. Since JJ Redick has been head coach of the Lakers, he’s preached a ‘Banshee’ mentality. That is, a player who is essentially all in and gives maximum effort on the court, especially defensively.

When Thiero first heard Redick talk about that type of mentality, he knew right away that he was going to fit right in with this group.

“When he said that, I felt like it already described me. That’s how I already played. Every time I step on the floor, I try and give you 100 percent,” Thiero said. “Just doing the little things that put my team in the best position to win. So when he says they’re looking for someone to do that, I look at it as that’s something I already do. So let me try and perfect that.”

Thiero was recently diagnosed with a right MCL sprain, leaving him sidelined for at least four weeks. It’s a blow to Lakers fans who were hoping to see him integrated into the team’s lineup amid their recent struggles.

But for a veteran team that was looking to compete this season, this was always going to be a development year for Thiero, especially coming off an injury. The organization will likely play it safe for the rest of the year, and he will no doubt get his chance in the future.