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In both the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League, Lakers fans had plenty to be excited about.
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The team won two out of their three games in San Francisco. In Las Vegas, they went undefeated during their first four games, advancing to the elimination round.
The Lakers lost to the Warriors and failed to advance to the title game, but in Summer League, the most important thing is seeing potential in young prospects.
From that perspective, LA got everything they wanted from Summer League. Cameron Carr averaged 18 points per game and had a plus-minus of +9 in Las Vegas. Adou Thiero looked like a second-year player ready to put Summer League play in his rearview mirror. He averaged 15.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
With Carr and Thiero playing so well, the Lakers appear to have two young players on their roster that can impact winning this fall.
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For our SB Nation Reacts survey this week, we asked fans which player they are most excited about after this Summer League between Carr and Thiero, and the Lakers rookie won the poll by a wide margin.
Carr did it all in Summer League. He was a great scorer for the Lakers and also a vocal leader. He was talking trash on the court and letting all the opponents know he was here to play. His game backed up that chatter, and he kept that energy during his postgame interviews.
Everything fans wanted to see from Carr, he showed. He was creating on-ball, scoring big-time buckets, competing hard on defense and blocking shots.
While Carr was great, Thiero was equally impressive.
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He had some monster dunks, displayed his ability as an on-ball creator and showed that he could be a good athletic wing option for the Lakers this upcoming season.
With Carr and Thiero shining, Chris Mañon being a defensive menace, and Arthur Kaluma making a case for a two-way deal, the Lakers had a very successful Summer League.
They did a ton of winning and gave Lakers fans optimism that these young players will be an important part of the future.
The next time we see Carr and Thiero play will be during preseason action. Hopefully they look just as promising this fall as they did in Las Vegas and San Francisco this summer.
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You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
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