What is Adou Thiero’s path into the rotation?

Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we’ll be writing columns every weekday breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we look at Adou Thiero.

The Lakers used this offseason to revamp their entire roster, getting younger, faster and more athletic as they move into the Luka Dončić era. One of Los Angeles’s key figures in this transitional period — who falls under each of those three categories — is 2025 second-round pick Adou Thiero.

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Following a season riddled with injuries hindering him from establishing any modicum of a presence in JJ Redick’s rotation, fans anticipated a leap in Summer League. It took the athletic, high-flying forward a game or two for the play to slow down for him and to start showing glimpses of progression between rookie and sophomore seasons.

The majority of Thiero’s 25 appearances last season were in garbage time as he recovered from his various lower-body injuries. He did, however, earn enough trust to appear in six playoff games, though he averaged just a hair under six minutes per game.

Thiero averaged 15.4 points, six rebounds, three assists and 1.8 steals in his five games in Las Vegas before sitting out the Lakers’ Summer League finale with a wrist injury. He jumped off the screen (almost literally) in every contest, though, flashing powerful dunks, vicious blocks and a vastly improved defensive arsenal.

The Lakers have a gaping hole at power forward and plenty of suitable options alongside Thiero, like Jarred Vanderbilt, Ziaire Williams and Jake LaRavia, competing for a defined role in the frontcourt. But what would Thiero’s path be?

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What is his best-case scenario?

Thiero is already one of the best pure athletes in the league, so he fits naturally off the ball next to Dončić and Austin Reaves offensively. Where he could really carve out a role in the rotation this season is by taking a sizeable leap on the other side of the floor as a versatile defensive wing.

Despite limited production last season, Thiero displayed plenty of potential as a connective…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/adou-thiero-path-rotation-204500168.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-08 20:45:00

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