The Los Angeles Lakers have defeated the Chicago Bulls tonight, 105-82, at the Vegas Summer League. The Lakers were led by promising performances from Chris Manon (16 points), Cameron Carr (14 points), and Adou Thiero (11 points).
Cameron Carr, the Lakers’ first-round pick from the 2026 NBA Draft, spoke to the sideline reporter after the win and addressed his mindset during the game. He revealed that being overlooked on draft night by multiple teams seems to have given him a chip on his shoulder.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to have fire under your feet. Every time I step on the court, I’m motivated to do my job. And I think I was overlooked, so I have a lot to prove,” said Carr.
The 21-year-old was the 24th pick in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. That means 23 players were chosen over him. Even members of the Amazon Prime broadcast had a similar takeaway from seeing Carr in action.
“He has a chip on his shoulder. He is happy to be a Laker, but knows there are not that many players better than him. He wants to come out with a kill mindset every game,” they said about their conversations with Carr.
Carr ended the game with 14 points, three rebounds, and one steal while going 5-12 from the floor (41.7 FG%). He helped improve the Lakers’ record to 4-0 at the Vegas Summer League, punching their ticket to the semifinals.
“Man, I feel like our connected abilities on the court. Everybody’s in their own little world, but it all matches together very, very well. Everybody takes care of their job, and everybody plays hard, and that’s all you can ask for,” said Carr on qualifying for the semifinals.
“I’ve got to give credit to my teammates; they all did their job. I just step up when I need to for them. And I feel like every single game we get better and better.”
The 21-year-old also spoke to the media after the game about the Lakers’ mindset of potentially winning the Summer League championship.
“One game at a time. We still have two games to go. We’ve got to take it one day at a time. And we weren’t good at this game. I feel like we can be a lot better, so much more elite.”
“And so just continuing to learn, get better, and take it one game at a time. It would be great to win a championship. That’s what we all want to do. And so we can only do one game at a time,” he said.
The Lakers’ opponents in the semifinals are yet to be determined. But if they qualify for the championship game, it will be on Sunday, July 19, at 6 PM PT. It remains to be seen if the Lakers’ rookie can lead them to their first piece of silverware, even before he plays his first regular-season game.
