Lakers News: First Look At Tristan Thompson In Los Angeles Gear
Jovan Buha of The Athletic has captured the first video footage (to our knowledge, at least) of LeBron James' former title-winning teammate Tristan Thompson wearing Los Angeles Lakers workout sweats.
In the video below, Thompson can be seen getting in some free throw work following his first practice with the team.
Buha also grabbed some footage of the veteran power forward/center putting in work during some scrimmages after practice, alongside teammates Max Christie, Scotty Pippen Jr., Cole Swider and Mo Bamba:
The 6'9" Thompson, 32, signed with Los Angeles on Sunday, the last day of the 43-39 Lakers' regular season. While he and LA's other, probably more impactful new free agent addition, combo guard Shaquille Harrison, did not join the team in time to partake in its final game of the 2022-23 regular season, they'll be ready to go in time for tomorrow's play-in contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves, though head coach Darvin Ham sounded like he didn't expect Thompson at least to play a major role.
Thompson was drafted with the fourth overall pick in 2011 out of the University of Texas at Austin by the then-rebuilding Cleveland Cavaliers. He was a critical role player, especially defensively, on now-Lakers teammate LeBron James' NBA Finals-bound Cavs clubs, appearing in four straight Finals series from 2015-18. Thompson was the Cavaliers' starting center on the team's 2016 championship-winning team.
He boasts career averages of 9.0 points on 51.9% shooting from the field, 8.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 blocks and 0.5 steals a night. Most recently, Thompson played for the 2021-22 Chicago Bulls as Nikola Vucevic's backup, but he lost his rotation spot in the playoffs to 6'5" forward Derrick Jones Jr.
Prior to yesterday, Thompson had been unsigned all year, and put in reps as an ESPN personality instead, alongside former Cleveland comrade Kendrick Perkins. His late-season signing is a bit reminiscent of the Lakers' decision to add another former Cleveland starter, JR Smith, during the 2019-20 season's "bubble restart," after Smith had gone unsigned earlier in the year. He wound up winning a title with LA, though he didn't quite crack the rotation.
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