While fans likely had some familiarity with most of the Lakers’ signings, Sandro Mamukelashvili is likely someone who fell through those cracks.
More affectionately known as Mamu, the Georgian big man, who spent four seasons in Milwaukee and San Antonio to begin his career, had a breakout season with the Raptors where he received Sixth Man of the Year votes.
The Lakers, who officially announced Mamu’s signing on Tuesday night, are banking on this being the beginning of something bigger and not a flash
in the pan.
While the Lakers sported a high-powered offense last season, one look they did not have was a two-big lineup. With LeBron James and Rui Hachimura often manning the forward position and with no viable stretch big men in the rotation, it wasn’t even an option for the team to go to.
With Mamu, that will change. The big man is a unique player, not the perimeter-based wing type like Rui or LeBron while also not being a traditional center. He’s a big who can step in at center to play a five-out style or alongside another big to give the Lakers a look and lineup they did not have.
The Raptors being an untraditional team meant that last season, he played a lion’s share of his minutes at the center position. Still, in 112 minutes alongside Jakob Poeltl last season, the Raptors had a +6.6 net rating.
Mamu’s skillset is one that also has a track record of succeeding alongside Luka Dončić, another key factor in any free agent signing. For years in Dallas, Luka and Maxi Kleber worked well off of one another and there’s plenty of reason to believe Mamu and Luka can have similar success.
Having a big man who can pick and pop will give the Lakers’ offense another dynamic it lacked last season. As a spot-up shooter, Mamu finished at 1.17 points per possession last season for the Raptors, according to the NBA’s tracking data. For reference, that falls right between Austin Reaves (1.24) and Luka (1.13). Similarly, on catch-and-shoot threes, Mamu shot 38.9% on 283 attempts last season, a mark that lands just above Luka’s 38.7%.
No big on the Lakers’ roster could even offer the possibility of being a reliable threat from range last season for the Lakers, which can open up things offensively. On top of bringing back Austin this summer to pair again with Luka, the Lakers added two more guards who can get to the rim in Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes.
Having a big in Mamu who can space the floor and potentially pull centers away from the rim will have cascading positive effects on the team’s offense.
All of this relies on the Lakers being right in their hope that Mamu can build on what he did in Toronto last season. There are underlying numbers, though, that suggest it’s sustainable.
Mamu’s 3-point percentage of 38.9% was the second-best mark of his career, but only just ahead of his career percentage of 36.6%. Similarly, he also shot 37.3% in 2024-25.
The same can be said about his overall field goal percentage, too, where he’s a 49.4% shooter overall but saw his 2025-26 percentage (52.3%) increase from his 2024-25 percentage (50.2%) with both being above that average.
The Raptors were also just a better team with Mamu on the floor. Toronto had a +5.3 net rating with him on and a +0.8 net rating when he sat.
While Mamu had a career-best season in 2025-26, it did not come out of nowhere. Instead, it was a steady build over multiple seasons that saw him take advantage of the most minutes he’s played in his career.
The Lakers are hoping that a big contract and a big role mean even bigger production from him in Los Angeles.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
