During his Summer League debut in 2025, while playing for the Golden State Warriors, Chris Mañon recorded eight points, three rebounds, three steals, two blocks and one assist in 19 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. Although Mañon spent the entirety of his 2025 Summer League stint with the Warriors, his play in that opening game caught the eye of the Lakers organization, which ultimately signed him to a two-way contract for 2025-26 and did so again this summer for 2026-27.
Mañon has appeared
in all three of Los Angeles’ preseason games thus far, headlined by a 12-point, five-rebound, one-block, one-steal performance against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 5.
“I really like Chris. We had him in for a draft workout. I think we maybe had him in for two draft workouts,” Redick told reporters. “Then he was with Golden State during the California Classic and really popped against us. So we started working that pretty much immediately with his agent because he wasn’t on a two-way. So, we’re invested in him and we’re invested in his development, in his career. I thought he played really well against Sacramento. I don’t think any of our guards played well against Golden State.”
Mañon only played in nine games with the Lakers last season but logged 46 G League appearances for the South Bay Lakers, where he averaged 11.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals. His defensive playmaking, perhaps the standout trait of his game, has seemingly translated across every context. He posted a 5.6% steal rate in four years collegiately, posted a 3.8% steal rate in the G League last season, picked up five steals in 46 NBA minutes a year ago, and has four steals in 40 preseason minutes this season.
Redick has emphasized defensive disruption during training camp and preseason play, an area Mañon could clearly help boost with his knack for occupying the passing lanes. He’s also been a highly effective interior scorer, shooting 60.5% on 2-pointers for his collegiate career and 59.6% (155-of-260) in the G League. It’s doubtful the 24-year-old factors into Los Angeles’ rotation this year but he owns a collection of skills the Lakers are intrigued by, so his development will be worth monitoring wherever he receives the majority of his playing time in 2026-27.
You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.
