Lakers have one Adou Thiero question that has nothing to do with talent

Adou Thiero joined the Los Angeles Lakers for his rookie season on the heels of offseason surgery in 2025. The 2025-26 campaign added more ailments for him to deal with. Those health concerns cost him a real opportunity to secure a role in JJ Redick's rotation. Can his body hold up next season?

That is a fair question to ask given what is known about Thiero. More than just the injury history, watching the athletic forward in summer league offered a prime example of why this will continue to be a worry for the Lakers and the team's fans. The high-flying forward was athletic to a fault at times.

Thiero's energetic playing style comes with the caveat of sometimes being too out of control. Until the former Arkansas forward can learn to contain his athleticism in a way that works in his favor, the worrying gulps of whether his next aerial assault leads to a potential injury will be there.

Few will doubt whether Thiero can keep up on an NBA court using his raw tools. There will rarely be an instance where the soon-to-be second-year forward is not the most athletic player on the court. The next hurdle to clear is finding a way to not only harness that ability, but be safe about it.

Adou Thiero's durability concerns stem from a needed adjustment to his game

Thiero's 2024-25 season at Arkansas featured a breakout for the eventual Lakers' 2025 draft pick. The Arkansas star averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game on the back of using his athleticism to his advantage.

The college level is a very different game from the NBA. There is a lot more discrepancy to be found between the type of athletes that step on a court in the NCAA.

That means Thiero got into the habit of playing a lot of bulldozing and bruising basketball for Arkansas. Bully ball helped him secure the breakout campaign in his junior season. It also set up some of the bad habits that hurt him, both literally and figuratively, today.

There is a tough balance that Thiero needs to find. On one hand, his athleticism is going to help him get on an NBA court and get minutes. If used properly, the young forward should be capable of becoming a strong defender and slashing threat for the Lakers.

On the other hand, the energy with which Thiero plays with can slip from exciting to reckless quickly. That is where he must scale things back and learn to protect himself.

The Lakers would love for Thiero to assert himself as a part of the rotation sooner than later. That means being available to seize the minutes and opportunities as they come. In order to do that, the exciting up-and-comer will need eliminate the question of his body holding up through his on-court play.

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