2025 NBA Draft: Adou Thiero Scouting Report

Evaluating the Arkansas wing ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.

DRAFT EVALUATION: Top 20

LAST BIG BOARD: No. 18

NBA ROLE: Defensive, play-finishing wing

REMINDS ME OF: OG Anunoby, Keldon Johnson, defensive Obi Toppin

RAW STATS: 15.1 PTS, 5.8 REB (1.8/4d), 1.9 AST to 1.7 TOV, 1.6 STL, 0.7 BLK, 2.5 PF in 27.5 MINS over 27 GAMES

ADVANCED STATS: 9.1 BPM, 25.9 USG%, 60.5 TS%, 7.7 OREB%, 15.9 DREB%, 14 AST%, 13.6 TOV%, 1.1 A/TO, 3.4 STL%, 2.9 BLK%

Background:

• Birthday: May 8, 2004

• Height: 6-foot-6¼ without shoes

• Wingspan: 7-feet

• Weight: 218 pounds

• Standing reach: 8-foot-8½

• Started college basketball career at Kentucky.

  • As a freshman at Kentucky, averaged 2.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.4 assists to 0.7 turnovers, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks on 34.5/33.3/69.7 splits in 9.5 minutes and 15.1 USG%.

  • As a sophomore at Kentucky, averaged 7.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists to 0.7 turnovers, 0.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks on 49.2/31.8/80.0 splits in 21.4 minutes and 15.6 USG%.

• Dad is Almamy Thiero, from Mali, earned an athletic scholarship to the USA in a U-16 tournament in France. The 6-foot-10 forward then played college ball at Memphis (2002-05) under John Calipari, who coached Adou at Kentucky and Arkansas, and later Duquesne (2006-07). Went through a stress fracture of the tibia, torn ACL and blood clots near his lungs in college. Almamy is also the founder of Pittsburgh-based AAU organization College Basketball Prospects of America and coached at Sewickley Academy. Mom is Mariam Sy, the 33rd pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft who played for the Mali national team and Oklahoma City University in the NAIA prior to that. Has three sisters: Mimi (6-foot-4; attended 2025 USA junior minicamp, plays on the Quaker Valley girls basketball team), Yassa, and Nudiya. Paternal grandparents are Amadou Thiero and Oumou Diagouraga.

  • Source: “While still dating, and in the middle of their collegiate careers, 20-year-old Almamy and 24-year-old Mariam learned they were going to be parents. They made the agonizing decision to let Almamy’s mother in Mali care for Adou for a few years while they worked to chase their dream on the court.”

  • Source: “After spending nearly the first three years of his life in Mali with his grandmother while his parents began to create opportunities for his family, Thiero called the Emsworth suburb of Pittsburgh home for the next 15 years before announcing his commitment to play in Kentucky in the spring of 2022.”

• As a high school senior, averaged 23.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.3 blocks. As a junior, averaged 21.8 points + team-highs 5.1 assists, 2.2 steals, 1.2 blocks. Led team in scoring as a sophomore with 17.7 points pre game.

• Had offers from Maryland, Pitt, Cincinnati, Xavier, Duquesne, etc. before committing to Kentucky. Started his senior season with offers from LIU and UCSB. Was barely known.

• Was 5-foot-8 before his freshman year of high school. Broke a bone in his left shin as a high school junior. Was about 6-foot-2 that year. Was listed at 6-foot-8 in shoes. Grew up as a guard, played the 4 in college.

  • Source: “Before committing for Kentucky, with his late growth spurt, Mike Mastroianni, Thiero’s high school head coach, had Thiero play in all five rotation spots in the four years of his high school career so the Quakers could take advantage of his size."

  • Source: “The one drawback has been his shooting touch. Thiero’s hands are growing at such a rapid rate that it’s made it difficult to properly hold and release the ball on jump shots. He’s working through that, and — once he settles into whatever size he’s going to be — there’s confidence the shooting stroke will return.”

• Played AAU ball for College Basketball Prospects of America, not on the Nike or Adidas circuits. Father intentionally "went against the grain" as far as AAU.

Takeaway:

Adou Thiero’s best-case scenario reminds me of OG Anunoby thanks to his defensive tools and upside, athletic play-finishing, and on-ball potential thanks to his unconventional background. Thiero is big and strong, runs the floor hard, and can finish above the rim and through contact. His three-point shooting will be the swing skill, since he cannot space the floor reliably to any extent. The Arkansas prospect will also need to improve his half-court finishing and handle to round out his offensive value. Thiero’s defensive floor is high, but he needs to hold up on the other end to stay on the court and get stops.

Thiero’s lowest-end outcome features him being unable to shoot or leverage his athleticism to finish. At this juncture, he is effectively a non-shooter, and his finishing numbers drop in the half-court against set defenses. If that doesn’t change, defenders will sag way off him, shrink the floor, and eliminate driving lanes. Thiero swallows up ground, but the gaps won’t exist if teams know they can dare him to shoot (if he takes the shot) and likely miss. This would eliminate a lot of his value in playoff settings.

Thiero’s backstory is a crucial part of his draft profile. The 21-year-old underwent a massive growth spurt — going from 5-foot-8 before his freshman year of high school to 6-foot-8 in shoes — and has filled out his broad frame to operate with NBA-caliber power+strength. His father played college hoops for John Calipari before injuries cut his career short. His mother was a WNBA draft pick who played for the Mali national team. His younger sister is a highly-touted high school prospect.

Offense:

• At his best when he attacks the basket. Powerful athlete who swallows up space within a couple of dribbles given his long strides. In 27 games, made 63.6% (89/140) of his shots at the rim, including 45 dunks.

  • Strong frame that just underwent a very interesting growth spurt allows him to dislodge defenders and finish through contact.

  • He is the only player other than Zion Williamson to meet the following Bart Torvik query: USG% ≥ 25; Games ≥ 15; TS% ≥ 60; DREB % ≥ 15; AST % ≥ 10; Ast/TO Ratio ≥ 0.5; BLK % ≥ 2.5; STL % ≥ 2.5; Box +/- ≥ 8.5; Def. BPM ≥ 3.5; Dunks made ≥ 40.

  • Handle is okay in short spurts to drive assertively or attack off the catch. Grew up as a guard. Wasn’t used as one at all in college. Is there more to tap into?

  • Loves to play off two feet after a hard jump stop. Combines that with his physicality and standing jump.

  • Creates contact to get to the free throw line. 6.5 FTA per game is high. 69.2 FTr is also high. 0.09 FTA/FGA at the rim.

• Dynamic open court athlete who is at his best finishing plays. Throws down highlight dunks. Fills the lane, receives the ball, and scores. Plays off two feet.

  • Numbers in transition shoot up. 68.8% (33/48) overall on his at-rim shots. 22 dunks.

  • Strength-based. Movements are powerful. Plays with contact. Invites it. Uses his hang time to play through bumps mid-air.

  • Fits a team that plays fast and has guards who love to pass. I like him on the Pacers, for instance. Will leak out and finish, catch lobs, etc.

  • Can he become a grab-and-go threat? Guard background opens the possibility. This hasn’t been tapped into so far. More of a play finisher right now, but ceiling goes up if he can handle on the break and off misses.

• Closer look at finishing reveals struggles with touch and in the half-court. Made 49.4% (43/87) of his total layups this season. Lowest end outcome features him being unable to leverage his athleticism to convert shots at the rim.

  • Made 47.1% (24/51) of his half-court layups. Can he finish at the rim when he's not dunking? More broadly, how does/can he score against a set defense?

  • Half-court limitations can play him off the floor. This especially applies in close games.

  • Flashes a runner. 58.6 FG% (17/29) for the season. Lack of shooting in the rest of his game right now is not a positive touch indicator, though.

• Effectively a non-shooter, which is his swing skill. Cannot make spot-ups or pull-ups right now.

  • 28.6 3P% (12/42) on catch-and-shoot threes is low volume and conversion. 3.3 threes per 100 possessions. Last season at Kentucky was 31.8 3P% on 7/22 attempts. 32.3 3P% (10/31) from deep as a whole at Kentucky.

  • Didn’t even make his open three-pointers. 21.7 3P% (5/23) on ‘Unguarded’ threes this season.

  • 0 3P% (0/1) on off-dribble threes. Last season was the same.

  • 36.8 FG% (7/19) on off-dribble twos. 2/5 last season. Can he get to an elbow pull-up out of one dribble?

• Speculative to some extent, but shot does not seem to be a lost cause. Does not appear broken on tape. Background playing as a guard and having a big growth spurt provokes curiosity.

  • 68.6 FT% (120/175) this season is not awful, although it's certainly not even decent. At Kentucky, 76.1 FT% (67/88) in 45 GP (726 minutes).

  • High school coach Mastroianni said. “He shoots it well. He was a shooter for us — he had games where he’d have eight or nine threes as a sophomore. And I think that will continue to come, too, because he’s growing into his hands and his whole body.”

• NBA role will be scaled down with more off-ball usage. 25.9 USG% was overwhelming at Arkansas, even if it showed his season-to-season growth. Athleticism is most functional when others create for him.

  • 84 FG% (21/25) as a cutter, but he only cut on 39 possessions this season. Issues with half-court scoring are mitigated to an extent if he doesn’t have to self-create.

  • Interested in seeing him act as a screener more often. 25 possessions (6/13 FG) slipping/rolling to the basket at Arkansas. Also likes to set a pick, then attack off the catch.

    • Needs to keep adding an in-between game.

  • Can add value as a rebounder, including on the offensive glass. 5.8 REB (1.8 OREB) per game. Physical and bouncy when engaged.

    • Assertive using his body. Moves defenders at the point of contact, bumps them on box-outs, finishes through others on putbacks.

    • Throws down tip dunks while leveraging his non-shooting. Defenders disregard him from the perimeter since he won’t make threes, but that actually gives him time+space to fly in and play above the rim.

    • Should tap into his motor more often. Can come in a more narrow role.

• Can he create for others? Again, background and such might allow for that — but it’s almost purely theoretical at this stage. Unproven/unused as a facilitator, and almost exclusively employed as a scorer/play finisher.

  • 1.9 AST to 1.7 TOV this year. 14 AST% and 13.6 TOV% are both low. 1.1 A/TO is fine for his position and eventual role.

  • Flashes of facilitating for others were very slim despite his high usage rate. Didn’t display any playmaking at Kentucky either, though usage/minutes were pretty different.

  • Turnovers come because of his handle. Does not create advantages against a set defense. Struggles to create space off the dribble.

Defense:

• Powerful athlete with ground coverage, strength, length, and an explosive leap. Rangy even with a single step.

  • 3.4 STL% (1.6 per game), 2.9 BLK% (0.7 per game) this season with a 3.9 DBPM. Productive throughout his college career.

  • 25.9 USG% was very high this season and will go down in the NBA. This will allow him to focus on defense more. But still needs to survive down other end.

  • Attacks the ball and space to get steals. Uses first step to create defensive events. Dangerous in the passing lanes. Leads to two-way plays that he can finish with dunks and maybe assists the future. Quick, strong hands.

• Gets blocks off two feet. 8-foot-8½ standing reach isn’t massive, but leverages it very well while combining with a vertical that was measured at 41 inches in Oct. 2022 by Kentucky.

  • Vertical was reportedly pushing 46 inches in summer 2023. Draft combine strength and agility testing results not yet available.

  • Useful as the low man. Will play the 3 and the 4 in the NBA. Solid about staying vertical.

• Can add value off-ball even when he doesn’t get the stock. Can offer nail help and rush out to the perimeter. Rangy and quick enough to double, then close out under control.

  • Can’t get frustrated when his offense is in a rut. Able to recover even when lagging behind. But can’t overdo that.

• Potential to defend the NBA’s best wings on the ball. Strong frame, accurate footwork, long arms, and encouraging tape.

  • Has the positional tools to guard NBA primary initiating wings. Those tend to be around 6-8 nowadays, so the height, length, and athleticism definitely exists.

  • Uses chest. Can play with contact but without fouling. Should not let attackers get anything easy on him.

  • Slides feet. Changes length and cadence of steps. Hips are fluid.

• Switchable. At this point, better on the perimeter than on the inside. Down the line, hope is that he can do both given his strength+length.

  • Disruptive against ballhandlers of different sizes. Had defensive possessions on Danny Wolf, Tre Johnson, Jeremiah Fears or Kasparas Jakucionis alike.

  • How will he do against bigs? Can he switch against 4/5s who post him up after switching on pick-and-rolls?

• Inconsistent with technique and engagement. Doesn’t always get in a stance. Gets caught flat-footed or upright. Can’t explode if he isn’t ready and low.

  • Can take plays off since he over-trusts his margins for recovery, thinking that he can still get a stop. He sometimes does, in all fairness.

  • Needs to improve screen navigation - but this is not unexpected for a college prospect.

    Needs to stay solid and not gamble for steals. First step and length is tempting to reach with, but needs to channel those tools well. Generally does, for my liking.

• Safe floor on defense. But the offense needs to hold up.

  • Can’t get stops if he’s not on the floor by the virtue of not making shots.