LOS ANGELES – After missing all of summer league and training camp due to an ankle injury suffered in college, Adou Thiero made his Los Angeles Lakers debut back on Nov. 15 during the team’s big road win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then, Thiero has had a couple of assignments in the G League with South Bay as a means to help him continue his overall progression and development.
Adou Thiero has appeared in three games so far with the South Bay while on G League assignment, and in each of those games he’s shown why the Lakers thought of him as a first round draft pick. For Thiero himself, playing with South Bay has allowed him to regain the confidence he had prior to his injury.
“Just being able to get back to who I am. Remembering who I was coming off this injury and being able to just get back up to speed with everything,” Thiero said following Lakers practice last Monday.
In Thiero’s first game with South Bay, he was clearly the best player on the court. He finished with a team-high 19 points, four rebounds, one assist and three steals in 19 minutes. Across the three games he’s played, he’s averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds with splits of 55.6 percent shooting from the field.
In between his stints in the G League, Thiero has been called into action with the Lakers amid various injuries. One of Thiero’s most memorable appearances was on Dec. 4 during the team’s win against the Toronto Raptors. He played 10 minutes off the bench, taking only shot, but his energy and effort, especially on the defensive end stood out.
Although Thiero admitted that he probably won’t be the exact player he was while in college, he knows the skills that made him valuable and made him an NBA Draft pick will be useful.
“I still feel like I’m trying to find where I fit on this team,” Thiero said. “I can’t really get back to that exact person, but I could take some things from what I did in college and level up from there.”
Thiero played three seasons in college, two at Kentucky and one at Arkasans after hitting the transfer portal and following John Calipari to the Razorbacks. He declared for the draft amid the injury and ended up being the No. 36 overall pick when the Lakers traded up in the second round.
As the Lakers’ lineup continues to shuffle amid injury issues, Thiero will certainly get opportunities as the season progresses.
