Lakers fans will have to wait before seeing Adou Thiero play as he continues to rehab from a left knee injury that ended his college career prematurely.
The excitement for the Lakers’ newest rookie, Adou Thiero, will have to be placed on hold.
After trading up to select him with the No. 36 pick and with Summer League fast approaching, fans expected to see him in a purple and gold uniform very soon. Unfortunately, Thiero will not participate in the Summer League as he is recovering from a left knee injury.
From the Lakers: Adou Thiero (left knee) is in the final stages of his return-to-play process. He will not participate in summer league games, per the team. It’s the same knee injury he dealt with at Arkansas. Adou is expected to be fully cleared for training camp.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 2, 2025
At Arkansas, Theiro hyperextended his left knee back in February and missed a month of action. He returned for the team’s Round of 16 matchup against Texas Tech but only logged five minutes in the 85-83 overtime loss.
It’s clearly a disappointment for Lakers fans that they can’t see Theiro in action. However, the good news is he is in the final stages of his return-to-play process and the team expects him to be ready for training camp.
Given that his injury effectively ended his season early, this all was likely relayed to teams, the Lakers included, during the predraft process and caught no one off guard.
With Summer League action cleared off his schedule, Theiro can now fully focus on getting his body at full health so he suffers no setbacks and is ready for training camp in September.
While reps of any kind of basketball would be beneficial to any rookie, given his injury and considering he’s still not fully cleared to play, it makes sense to take the option of Summer League play off the table and just have him prepare for his rookie campaign.
It’s far more important for him to be ready at the start of training camp than it is for him to try and rush back for a few exhibition games in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Once he does get on a basketball court, Lakers fans can expect to see freakish athleticism and a solid defensive display from Thiero.
During his final season at Arkansas, he averaged 15.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He also averaged 1.6 steals per game across 36 matchups.
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