![\"Sacramento](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/sacramento-kings-v-los-angeles-lakers-los-angeles-california-december-28-1-e1789123874816.jpg\")
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 28: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena on December 28, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Luke Hales\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
We are now just one day away from the return of Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> basketball. After a truly unique offseason, the Lakers enter a new season with fresh \u2014 and the usual sky-high \u2014 expectations.<\/p>\n One sure-fire way the Lakers could hit their ceiling this season? The rise of their young stars, including electric 22-year-old forward Adou Thiero<\/a>, whom fans are especially buzzing with excitement over.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thiero has picked up a ton of praise heading into a new season from both his superstar teammate and head coach. If Thiero flashes that enormous potential more often than not, it could give L.A. the kind of weapon it has not had in a while.<\/p>\n Lakers Star Dishes On Thiero\u2019s Potential Rise<\/p>\n \n The Lakers are undeniably in their championship window, so developing young players isn\u2019t the highest on the priority list. But that doesn\u2019t mean youngsters like Thiero and 2026 first round pick Cameron Carr<\/a> won\u2019t get their opportunities to thrive in JJ Redick\u2019s system. Both players have drawn ginormous praise heading into the 2026-27 season, with Thiero recently earning a major vote of confidence from teammate Luka Doncic<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of underrated guys in our group,\u201d Doncic, 27, told ESPN LA in a recent interview<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s just I can\u2019t name one specifically, but our new signings, I think they\u2019re very underrated and they\u2019re going to help us a lot. But what I saw from Adou, like you said, this year and the improvement is insane. So, I\u2019m very excited for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Thiero may not be the Robin to Doncic\u2019s Batman now or even ever, but he has potential to develop into not only a consistent rotation player but perhaps a full-time starter.<\/p>\n Thiero had a testy rookie season due to injuries, causing him to miss summer league, training camp and preseason. Now that Thiero is back in the mix and looking healthier than ever, it has fueled major excitement among Lakers Nation.<\/p>\n Can Thiero Take Next Step?<\/p>\n One thing that a healthy offseason has done for Thiero is allowing him to work on his game uninterrupted. That\u2019s probably why he has registered on coach Redick\u2019s radar this preseason.<\/p>\n \u201cAdou has had an unbelievable last two months of development,\u201d Redick told reporters last week. \u201cIt\u2019s the first stretch he\u2019s had since we drafted him where he\u2019s had uninterrupted time in the gym. His body has been in great shape and he\u2019s just gotten better.\u201d<\/p>\n While this may be taking a step too far a bit too soon, some Lakers fans are hoping Thiero earns a spot in the starting lineup this season. Even if Redick doesn\u2019t give him the nod now, that could change later in the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt could be in play,\u201d Lakers reporter Jovan Buha said of Thiero\u2019s potential to join the starting lineup. \u201cI think it\u2019d be a real development wing for the Lakers.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, it will come down to both Thiero\u2019s individual development and him proving that he can carve his own niche next to Doncic, Austin Reaves<\/a> and Walker Kessler<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAdel Ahmad<\/a> Adel is a writer with over five years of experience covering the NBA. His work has appeared on various media platforms, both national and local. More about Adel Ahmad<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 28: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts before the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":915910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-915909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=915909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/915910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=915909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=915909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=915909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"2026](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2026-nba-summer-league-los-angeles-lakers-v-golden-state-warriors.jpg\")
GettyLAS VEGAS, NEVADA \u2013 JULY 18: Adou Thiero #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks against the Golden State Warriors<\/a> in the second half of a 2026 NBA Summer League semifinal game at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 18, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ian Maule\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n