The Los Angeles Lakers made an attention-grabbing choice with the No. 36 total choose within the 2025 NBA Draft.
Initially, the Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2025 NBA Draft with simply the fifty fifth total choose. Nevertheless, the Lakers moved up 10 spots after buying and selling the choose and money to the Chicago Bulls.
Nevertheless, the Lakers weren’t performed but as they made one other commerce. This time, sending the Bulls’ acquired No. 45 choose and money issues to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Therefore, they landed the thirty sixth total choose and used it to choose Arkansas ahead Adou Thiero.
At 6’8″ and 220lbs, the LA Lakers have excessive expectations for Thiero. He’ll probably be requested to anchor the group’s protection as he did for Arkansas throughout his three-year NCAA stint.
Following his choice, Thiero was requested about his defensive acumen. To which the 21-year-old talked about he has carefully adopted the video games of OG Anunoby and Jrue Vacation.
“I watch a whole lot of defenders. Making an attempt to choose up on what they do within the league, that’s a distinct stage,” Thiero informed Spectrum Sportsnet, h/t Daniel Starkland.
“It’s a whole lot of totally different stuff offensive gamers do within the league, so making an attempt to choose up off of OG Anunoby, Jrue Vacation, he’s an amazing defender. Simply selecting up on what they do, watching how they play protection,” he added.
Apart from his defensive potential, Thiero has confirmed that he can rating at will. In spite of everything, he averaged 15.1 factors per recreation for Arkansas over three seasons.
Heading into the draft and not using a first-round choose is all the time tough, however Rob Pelinka managed to show their late second-round choose right into a excessive second-round choose.
Pelinka claimed the choice was made to accumulate Thiero, who the Lakers’ scouts projected as a first-round choose.
“We had been tremendous aggressive to start the day, realizing we didn’t have a first-round choose. Adou was projected by our scouts as a first-round expertise,” Pelinka stated.
He added: “Grateful for the assist of Jeanie [Buss] to permit us to be aggressive and use assets to win on the margins, transfer up within the draft, and get a participant that we actually assume goes to dimensionalize our roster.”
The Lakers’ president of basketball operations and basic supervisor additionally claimed that Thiero is a ‘beast.’ It actually looks like the Lakers are content material with this choice.
