Potentially one of the Lakers next hidden gems in the draft still has yet to hit the court this summer.
Augustas Marčiulionis was one of the top undrafted free agent guards following the 2025 NBA Draft. The Lakers quickly swooped in and signed him to a deal to join the team during Summer League. However, a foot injury kept Marčiulionis off the court for the entirety of the summer.
Fortunately, Marčiulionis’ deal with the Lakers appears to be an Exhibit-10 contract, as revealed in his interview with Vaidas
Jukavičius of BasketNews, allowing him to rehab this summer and join the team once training camp begins.
Landing Marčiulionis was a great signing for the Lakers, considering it came amidst competition as he revealed he chose the Lakers over the Bucks this summer (h/t Sports Illustrated).
“The attention was similar from both teams. But in Los Angeles, there were more people my agent and I knew and trusted. We understood the situation better there.
“For some reason, L.A. just felt like the right choice. Still, it wasn’t easy because I don’t know that much about the NBA environment yet. But we thought this was the best place for me.”
At St. Mary’s last season, Marčiulionis averaged 14.2 points, 5.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 35 games. He shot 44.6% from the field and 34.7% from the 3-point line. He earned West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors, no small feat in a conference with Gonzaga, and was named to the All-Conference First Team.
A very poorly-timed foot injury prior to the draft, though, meant his stock took a hit and he went undrafted. It could be a blessing, though, for the Lakers to land a player many were high on even heading into the draft.
While it’s certainly a longshot for him to make the full roster, to say the least, the Lakers have turned undrafted prospects into viable NBA players before and there’s a good case for Marčiulionis to be next on that list.
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