There is hope that Adou Thiero, a rookie forward, will make an impact at some point for the Los Angeles Lakers. At 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, he has excellent athleticism and can attack the basket well, and he also has the potential to become a strong defender.
It will be difficult for him to get playing time this season, and it is conceivable that he will spend a decent amount of time in the G League. But Thiero could end up being a steal for the Lakers — after all, general manager Rob Pelinka said they had Thiero tabbed as a first-round talent, and Pelinka even compared the 21-year-old to OG Anunoby, a premier two-way wing with the New York Knicks.
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Thiero wore No. 3 in college, but he will don jersey No. 1 with L.A. He said he chose the latter number because of Derrick Rose.
“This is my first number I picked. My first favorite player was Derrick Rose. So then I tried to go with the number I was throughout college and everything. I wasn’t able to get that number so, you know, why not go back with what we started with.”
It’s easy to forget what an electrifying player Rose was back in the day before his many injuries derailed his career. He was the Rookie of the Year for the 2008-09 season, and two years later, he averaged 25 points and 7.7 assists a game while winning the league MVP award. At his best, he was arguably the most athletically gifted point guard in NBA history.
His last game in the NBA came during the 2023-24 season as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Chicago Bulls, the team he spent his first seven seasons with, will retire his No. 1 jersey midway through the upcoming season.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Why Lakers rookie Adou Thiero will wear jersey No. 1