Adou Thiero
 Thiero with Arkansas in 2025 | |
| No. 1 – Los Angeles Lakers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / power forward |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | May 8, 2004 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Quaker Valley (Leetsdale, Pennsylvania) |
| College | |
| NBA draft | 2025: 2nd round, 36th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Brooklyn Nets |
| Playing career | 2025–present |
| Career history | |
| 2025–present | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Adou Thiero (born May 8, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Early life and high school career
[edit]Thiero was born on May 8, 2004 in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1][2] His parents, Almamy and Mariam, immigrated to the U.S. from Mali and both played college basketball; his father Almamy for Memphis under coach John Calipari and then for Duquesne, while his mother Mariam for Oklahoma City.[3] His mother was selected in the 2006 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics.[4]
Thiero, born in the U.S., spent his early years in Mali with his grandmother, while his parents played college basketball.[3] In 2007, at age three, he returned to the U.S.[3] He attended Quaker Valley High School in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, where he played basketball, soccer, and lacrosse.[5] A combo guard, he led Quaker Valley in scoring as a sophomore, averaging 17.7 points per game.[3] Then, as a junior in 2020–21, he remained their leading scorer and averaged 21.8 points as well as a team-leading 5.1 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game.[3]
As a senior, Thiero averaged 23.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, helping the team compile a record of 27–1 while being undefeated in league play; their only loss came in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) championship game.[5] He set a school record with 44 points in a game, finished third in school history with 1,624 career points, and received several honors after his senior season including Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Player of the Year, TribLive HSSN Boys Basketball Player of the Year, and Pennsylvania Class 4A Player of the Year.[5] He committed to playing college basketball for Kentucky, coached by John Calipari, who had coached his father in college.[3][6]
College career
[edit]Kentucky
[edit]As a freshman at Kentucky in 2022–23, Thiero appeared in 20 games, averaging 9.5 minutes per game, and recorded averages of 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds.[7] He was the team leader in steals in four games and in blocks in three games.[5] In 2023–24, he saw more playing time, appearing in 25 games, 19 as a starter, while missing eight due to injury.[8] He averaged 7.2 points and five rebounds per game, also totaling 27 blocks which was second on the team.[9] He was Kentucky's leading rebounder in eight games and had five games where he scored double figures; he also posted a double-double in their game against No. 1 ranked Kansas, scoring 16 points and 13 rebounds.[5] After the season, Thiero entered his name in the 2024 NBA draft and the NCAA transfer portal.[10]
Arkansas
[edit]Thiero withdrew from the 2024 NBA draft and transferred to the Arkansas Razorbacks for the 2024–25 season, following coach Calipari from Kentucky.[11] In his lone season at Arkansas, Thiero led the team in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game. He missed ten games due to an injury, but helped the Razorbacks finish 22-14 overall and make it to the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. He declared for the 2025 NBA draft after the season was over.[12]
Professional career
[edit]On June 26, 2025 Thiero was taken in the 2nd round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets with the 36th overall pick. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a seven-team trade involving Kevin Durant.[13]
Career statistics
[edit]| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | Kentucky | 20 | 0 | 9.5 | .345 | .333 | .697 | 1.9 | .4 | .5 | .3 | 2.3 |
| 2023–24 | Kentucky | 25 | 19 | 21.4 | .492 | .318 | .800 | 5.0 | 1.1 | .7 | 1.1 | 7.2 |
| 2024–25 | Arkansas | 27 | 26 | 27.5 | .545 | .256 | .686 | 5.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | .7 | 15.1 |
| Career | 72 | 45 | 20.4 | .514 | .284 | .711 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | .7 | 8.8 | |
References
[edit]- ^ "Adou Thiero". Proballers.com.
- ^ "Adou Thiero". Arkansas Razorbacks. May 22, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Upadhyaya, Parth (April 28, 2022). "Adou Thiero's parents came to America to chase a dream. Now he has his own bright future". The Beaver County Times.
- ^ Harlan, Chris (April 4, 2022). "Quaker Valley's Adou Thiero named 2022 TribLive HSSN Boys Basketball Player of the Year". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- ^ a b c d e "Adou Thiero". Kentucky Wildcats. August 4, 2022.
- ^ Tucker, Kyle (May 9, 2022). "Kentucky's bet on Adou Thiero is that he'll embrace the challenge, continue growing". The New York Times.
- ^ Campbell, Dominic (May 2, 2024). "Pitt Likely Missing Out on Kentucky Transfer". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Drummond, Cameron (May 6, 2024). "After two seasons with Kentucky basketball, Adou Thiero is sticking with John Calipari". Lexington Herald-Leader.
- ^ Choate, Mason (April 19, 2024). "Arkansas makes final cut for Kentucky transfer Adou Thiero". Rivals.com.
- ^ Roberts, Ben (March 30, 2024). "Adou Thiero issues statement on future. He could still return to Kentucky basketball team".
- ^ Givony, Jonathan; Borzello, Jeff (May 6, 2024). "Ex-Kentucky star Adou Thiero joining John Calipari at Arkansas". ESPN.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Goodson, Connor (April 8, 2025). "Adou Thiero declares for NBA Draft after one season at Arkansas". 247 Sports. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
- ^ "Los Angeles Lakers Acquire Draft Rights to Adou Thiero in Seven-Team Trade". NBA.com. July 6, 2025.