Luka Doncic Excited For Adou Thiero’s Second Season

Unlike previous years, the Los Angeles Lakers are leaning on youth and player development moving forward due to the restrictions in the NBA CBA.

One of their promising young players is former second-round pick Adou Thiero, who is entering his sophomore season. Thiero has the athleticism to be a successful NBA player but is still working to improve other aspects of his game. This summer was a big one for him in that regard though and Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is looking forward to Thiero’s second season in purple and gold because of it.

“I think there’s a lot of underrated guys in our group. It’s just I can’t name one specifically, but our new signings, I think they’re very underrated and they’re going to help us a lot,” Doncic said in an interview with ESPN LA. “But what I saw from Adou, like you said, this year and the improvement is insane. So, I’m very excited for him.”

After striking out on free agent Jonathan Kuminga, who projected to be their starting power forward, suddenly there is an opening for a player like Thiero to earn playing time. Wing depth has not been an area of strength for the Lakers in recent years, but there are numerous players fighting for a starting spot this year.

With the likes of Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, Jake LaRavia, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jarred Vanderbilt, there are a lot of players jockeying for minutes. Preseason will be important for Thiero to show the coaching staff that he has taken a leap from an IQ perspective and he is someone Redick can rely on.

Beating out Vanderbilt in the rotation seems like a realistic goal for the sophomore and he needs to hone in on his skills to make is happen. His athleticism is otherworldly, so having him mold into a rotational piece as a second-round pick would be a massive boost for a team that has whiffed on their other recent draft picks.

Adou Thiero understands importance of health and development

Thiero’s fall to the second round during the 2025 NBA Draft was due to his concerning medicals, particularly when it came to recovering from left knee surgery in his final collegiate season. That prevented him from participating in Summer League his rookie year and ultimately stunted his growth due to recovering from a significant injury.

When reflecting on his short time in the NBA, Thiero acknowledged the importance of staying healthy and continuing to develop as a young player, which he plans to do in his second season.