As Adou Thiero was standing in front of the scorer’s table at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City early in the second quarter of the Lakers’ Game 2 loss to the Thunder, a familiar face followed Thiero’s path with a message. 

Luka Doncic, the team’s star player who’s been sidelined since April 2 because of a strained left hamstring, made the walk from his seat on the Lakers’ bench to the scorer’s table before putting his arm to Thiero.

Doncic was there to give the Lakers rookie pieces of advice before getting his first opportunity of being in the Lakers’ playoff rotation after Jarred Vanderbilt suffered an open right pinky dislocation, opening up playing time. 

“He just told me to go out there and play hard, just do what I do and don’t overthink anything,” Thiero said of Doncic’s message. “Just kept it simple and trying to lighten the pressure on me.”

During a loss that didn’t provide many bright spots for the Lakers, outside of Austin Reaves bouncing back from a rough Game 1 to kick off the series, Thiero provided what the coaching staff was looking for.

He had three rebounds in his six-minute shift in the quarter. 

He hustled.

He was energetic. 

He was physical. 

All of the areas the Thunder have had the edge over the Lakers entering Monday’s Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena. 

“High energy and physicality,” coach JJ Redick said of what’s expected of Thiero. “Thought he played well.”

The good impression led to more playing time for Thiero in Saturday’s Game 3 loss.

Thiero had a team-high eight rebounds in 13 minutes – five defensive rebounds and three offensive boards – and four points. 

“[I] prayed for moments like these and worked for moments like these,” Thiero said, “Just to get that opportunity has been special; go out there and do what I can for the guys.”

Thiero has felt the shift in focus and energy during the 19 combined minutes he played in Game 2 and Game 3 compared to when he’d get playing time in the regular season. 

“It’s definitely very intense,” Thiero said. “You got a loud atmosphere. Everybody is into it. Every possession, leave it all out there. It’s very intense. I felt the change in pace and everything as soon as I got out there.” 

Thiero’s inexperience showed when he was called for a moving screen while trying to initiate a dribble handoff with Rui Hachimura late in the third quarter. 

Or other moments when he passed up shots, with his energy and hustle masking the fact the No. 36 pick in the 2025 draft only played 149 minutes across 25 regular season games before the playoffs.

“They told me I did a lot of good things, but there’s still a lot of things I need to work on, which, granted, I haven’t gotten that many reps. But still gotta be disciplined with what we’re doing as a team and keep picking up our principles.”

But if the Lakers hope to compete with teams like the Thunder, or even the Spurs, in the future, they need to develop players like Thiero into quality rotation players.

Thiero, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward who impresses with his leaping ability and athleticism, not only represents what the Lakers lacked for most of the season, but also an advantage the Thunder and Spurs have over the Lakers.

The Lakers have lacked inexpensive, younger talent that they’ve developed who can be counted on to step up when needed.

Austin Reaves was once that player, but is 27, now five years into his NBA career and is set for a big pay day this offseason. 

Max Christie, who the Lakers drafted in the second round in 2022, was turning into that type of player before they included him in the trade for Doncic last winter.

Both of the Lakers’ draft picks from 2023, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis, are no longer in the NBA.

Their 2024 picks, Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, have only played against the Thunder when the game results were essentially decided. James was in the rotation during the first round against the Rockets while Reaves was sidelined. 

Compare that to the Thunder, who have multiple younger players on rookie scale contracts or inexpensive deals (Cason Wallace, Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell)) who have contributed to the 3-0 series lead they had going into Monday, and it’s clear the Lakers are missing out on an important factor for team building.

It’s why they need Thiero to get this playing time. 

And for the Lakers sake, hopefully grow from it.