Sandro Mamukelashvili is already attracting plenty of praise in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. It's only been a few preseason games, but "Mamu" has shown off his array of skills offensively, much to the delight of Laker Nation, as well as his teammates.
Austin Reaves has complimented Mamu's ball-handling and playmaking abilities, noting that the big man can essentially operate as a de facto point guard when he snags a defensive rebound and pushes the ball up the floor himself ... a talent that has some Lakers fans hearkening back to the days of Lamar Odom.
How expansive will Mamukelashvili's contributions be this season? Will he start a lot of games? Could he be LA's premier bench player, and possibly a Sixth Man candidate? That all remains to be seen, and much of it depends on how high Mamu can sustain his floor on the defensive side of things.
But there's no doubt that Mamukelashvili brings value to the Lakers, and way-too-early returns on LA's decision to sign him are looking favorable. Mamu also got some love in the newly released 2026-27 NBA GM Survey when it came to the category of the most underrated offseason player acquisition.
Lakers' Sandro Mamukelashvili acquisition might end up looking extremely smart
Leading the "underrated acquisition" category in the GM Survey was Tobias Harris (San Antonio Spurs) with 20 percent of the votes (GMs couldn't vote for their own teams or players). Boston Celtics center Mitchell Robinson finished second with 17 percent, and Charlotte Hornets big man Naz Reid finished third with 10 percent.
Mamukelashvili didn't finish among the top vote-getters, but the fact that he did receive votes at all shows that his value is acknowledged around the league.
It was certainly acknowledged by the Lakers this summer when they gave Mamu a four-year, $52 million deal. LA clearly loved what Mamukelashvili did in 2025-26, popping off for a career year with 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for the Toronto Raptors on 38.9 percent from three in 80 games.
At 27 years old, Mamukelashvili should be entering the best years of his career, which will be spent in a Lakers uniform. He'll give LA shooting, secondary creation, and even some small-ball five minutes (until the Lakers snag another center, anyway). In other words, this is a versatile basketball player.
Once again, Mamu's defensive concerns are real, but at the very least, he's not going to get out-muscled by other forwards. And he'll force many opposing fours (and sometimes fives) to step out to the perimeter defensively and move their feet, thereby spacing the floor for Reaves and Luka Doncic to cook.
Speaking of cooking, did Rob Pelinka make an under-the-radar master move by signing Mamu this summer? We're about to find out. But it already looks like this deal will end up looking mediocre at worst, barring injury.
Add us as a preferred source on Google