Lakers Share Exciting Update on John Calipari’s Former Star originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The dust has settled on the 2025 NBA Draft, and the Lakers are already making moves to stack the deck for another title run. With Luka Doncic and LeBron James leading the charge, every piece of the puzzle matters and the front office knows it.

While the focus is on their new draft class, the Lakers recently dropped an update that’s got fans buzzing about someone from this year’s group. Their top pick from 2025, former John Calipari standout Adou Thiero, just gave the team another reason to feel good about their championship chances.

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Lakers shared with their 25.2 million followers on Instagram, a picture of Thiero with a caption that said, “Adou Thiero in the building.”

The images show the 21-year-old visiting the Lakers’ facilities for the first time since being drafted 36th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. 

With no first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Lakers knew they had to make some noise in the second round and they definitely did. Rob Pelinka got busy on Thursday night, pulling off a few trades to climb up the board and snag the No. 36 overall pick. That pick turned into Arkansas standout Adou Thiero, a dynamic slasher who’s now set to add some energy and depth to L.A.’s stacked roster.

In his lone season with the Razorbacks, Adou Thiero put up some solid numbers, averaging 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists a game.

Before landing in Arkansas, he spent two years at Kentucky playing under John Calipari, then followed his coach to Fayetteville last offseason. The 6-foot-8 forward out of Pittsburgh was super efficient, shooting 54.5% from the field. He also lived at the free-throw line making 175 trips, which was 78 more than anyone else on the team. 

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.