The Lakers entered this NBA draft looking for an athletic wing or a big, and they just may have found the perfect player, Adou Thiero, to play that role on the team. The Lakers drafted the former Arkansas forward as the 36th pick in the 2025 NBA draft following a trade up from the 55th pick to the 45th pick with the Bulls, and then, after another team drafted their initial target, they traded up for the 36th pick with the Timberwolves.
The Lakers reportedly were looking to draft the 7’1 Crieghton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, but after the Hornets picked him 34th, they seemingly went to Plan B, Thiero. Before the NBA Draft, the NCAA legend John Calipari, who was Thiero’s head coach in college, went on Pat McAfee’s show and perfectly summarized what Thiero brings to a team.
“Adou Thiero, if anybody misses that, it’s going to be like they missed on Immanuel Quickley… Adou Theiro is a first-round draft pick, and I’m going to tell you why. The league, I love the physicalness of the league right now, I love it because you got to work to get a basket, it ain’t horse anymore.”
“Adou can play in a physical game and athletically be in the top 1%. He’s somebody if you pass on, they’ll look back and say “How many people passed on him?” he’s that good and a good kid from Pittsburgh.”
On social media, fans have compared his style of play to former NBA players like Derrick Jones Jr, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Jae Crowder. They may have seen his athletic ability and physicality when he played for Kentucky and Arkansas in his three-year college career. When he became a permanent starter in his last season, he averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game across 27 games played in the season while shooting 54.5% from the field.
Which NBA Players Are Adou Thiero’s Role Models
According to Malika Andrews of ESPN, during the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft, Thiero grew up as a big fan of Derrick Rose and modeled his game after him. Following this, he spoke to Spectrum Sportsnet and said that Jrue Holiday and OG Anunoby were the two NBA players he tried to model his defensive game after.
The Derrick Rose influence is visible as draft experts like Jonathan Givony categorized Thiero as the best dunker of this draft class. The 6’8″ forward can use his size and athleticism on both ends of the floor and be the perfect fit alongside Luka Doncic in the long run. I see him playing a role similar to what P.J. Washington did for the Mavericks in their 2024 NBA Finals run.
His 7-foot wingspan allows him to also be a lob threat on the offensive end of the floor, as well as regularly getting steals and blocks on the defensive side. Even in the second round, the Lakers may have found a long-term solution to their problems.
