Rookie Adou Thiero Still Awaiting Lakers’ Debut

At the 2025 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers gave up multiple selections to move up to nab Adou Thiero at No. 36.

In doing so, they not only solidified their faith in his future fit with the roster, but also added a bit more buzz to his debut than your typical second-rounder. 

Months later though, Thiero still hasn’t officially donned the purple and gold. And he isn’t set to in the Lakers’ first bout of the preseason on Friday. Thiero — along with LeBron James, Marcus Smart and Maxi Kleber — will sit in the team’s bout with the Suns as he continues to work his way back from a knee injury. As of a few days ago, he hadn’t been cleared to fully practice with Los Angeles, missing Tuesdays.

Thiero’s knee injury has essentially held him out of play since the pre-draft process, when he had surgery. He missed the Lakers’ entire Summer League slate, a place he likely could've used the developmental reps.

The good news is that Lakers fans have reason to anticipate Thiero's NBA debut.

A big-bodied, 6-foot-8 wing, he’s an essential perfect fit next to Luka Doncic, offering a unique athletic combination of length, physicality, speed, power and verticality. He parlayed that into plenty of success at the college level in his third season, scoring 15.1 points, grabbing 5.8 rebounds and nabbing 1.6 steals per game with Arkansas.