Adou Theiro has yet to play any kind of games donning a purple and gold jersey. The Lakers rookie missed Summer League and preseason action while recovering from knee surgery.
Now that the regular season
has begun, he has remained out.
However, on Wednesday, there was a positive update for Thiero as he’s cleared for live on-court work and has been assigned to the South Bay Lakers so he can continue working towards 5-on-5 play.
This is the biggest update the team has given on Thiero since mid-October, when the Lakers said they’d reevaluate him in 2-3 weeks.
South Bay has already begun training camp, so Thiero can now join them and continue ramping up for 5-on5 play. With the Lakers already playing games, it makes sense for Thiero to remain in Los Angeles and train with the team’s G League affiliate.
Head coach JJ Redick has mentioned before treating South Bay as an extension of the main team. Thiero, working with South Bay and head coach Zach Guthrie to prepare for his NBA career, is a prime example of this.
The Arkansas alum is an exciting prospect due to his raw athleticism and explosiveness. During his final year of collegiate play, he averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and shot 54.5% from the field.
While we haven’t seen him playing against NBA players yet in a game yet, he’s been hard at work during Lakers practices, getting himself ready.
Now, he’ll keep on putting in that work in the G League. We’ll see if he gets sent back up once he is cleared for 5-on-5 work or if maybe he plays some games with South Bay a bit before he makes his NBA debut.
On media day, Thiero made it clear that playing in the G League with the South Bay Lakers would be okay with him.
“Yes, of course, Thiero. “I’m just happy to be here, happy to be in this position. So, whatever they ask of me, I’ll be ready to compete whoever it’s against.”
The Lakers moved up twice during the 2025 NBA Draft to select him. Once he is healthy and joins the Lakers, he’ll be one of the most explosive vertical threats Redick will have available.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
