After Jarred Vanderbilt destroyed his pinky finger on the backboard in Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and was ruled out for Game 2, the Los Angeles Lakers were forced to find someone to take his spot. It was not Bronny James. It wasn't even Maxi Kleber. JJ Redick gave the nod to Adou Thiero.
Adou Thiero minutes!#lakeshow
— Svyatoslav Rovenchuk (@JJBuckets17) May 8, 2026
It was an intriguing call from the Lakers coach. Thiero is still raw as a rookie, but has plenty of adoring fans in Los Angeles due to his otherworldly athleticism. There was undoubtedly plenty of early excitement from that decision. Unfortunately for all those hopefuls, the rook barely played.
Despite checking into the matchup during the second quarter, Thiero got the Bronny treatment in terms of how long he was out there. Quite frankly, he got even less grace. Ultimately, his impact was barely felt in the Lakers' tough 125-107 loss to the Thunder in Game 2.
Thiero got a bit more run early in the fourth. Ultimately, the Lakers rookie finished with just six minutes, and even that figure is padded by checking back into the contest for garbage time after both sides emptied their reserves for the end.
JJ Redick's risky move ended up being a complete afterthought for the Lakers
For a matchup like the Thunder, rolling the dice on Thiero's athleticism and length gave Redick the best combination of what he was looking for to replace Vanderbilt amid his injury absence. There was just not enough trust built for the Lakers coach, clearly.
The (missed) highlight of the night for Thiero was an alley-oop connection that never quite materialized.
Early in the fourth quarter, the athletic rookie made an excellent cut to the basket. LeBron James saw it and tried to throw it up there for Thiero, but the Thunder were all over it, deflecting the pass and leaving the excellent off-ball motion without a reward.
Ultimately, three rebounds wound up being what Thiero had to show for this one. Redick leaned heavily on his starters throughout the contest, leaving very little wiggle room for a bigger impression than that.
"We'll play at least a nine-man [rotation]," Redick told the media ahead of Game 2.
That much was technically true. However, Jake LaRavia and Thiero, who were the eighth and ninth men in that rotation, barely got real run when it mattered for the Lakers' second unit.
Redick initially looked quite gutsy for throwing Thiero into a big playoff matchup after his limited impact on the main roster throughout the regular season. What that move ultimately proved to be was smoke and mirrors.
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