{"id":150127,"date":"2025-07-14T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T10:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=150127"},"modified":"2025-07-13T17:43:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T21:43:58","slug":"lakers-summer-league-cole-swider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/14\/lakers-summer-league-cole-swider\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Lakers Summer League Star Get Second Chance in LA?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While all eyes are on <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LeBron James<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/12\/lakers-and-lebron-james-are-heading-for-a-nasty-split-unless\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">future<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the Lakers, Summer League is the perfect time to see what that future could hold. Among many young players making names for themselves in Las Vegas is <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/swideco01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cole Swider<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who has turned heads as a sharpshooter and could find himself donning the purple and gold long after Summer League concludes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Could Lakers Summer League Star Get Second Chance in LA?<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Swider\u2019s Sizzling Start<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 26-year-old Swider has shot the lights out in the Thomas &amp; Mack Center so far. In two games, he <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/basketball.realgm.com\/player\/Cole-Swider\/Summary\/108205\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">averaged<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 21.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while nailing a blistering ten of his 18 three-point attempts (55.6%). His impressive numbers come after an excellent stint in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/09\/four-lakers-to-watch-in-nba-2k26-las-vegas-summer-league\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">California Classic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: 19.7 points and 5.0 rebounds on .576\/.476\/.917 splits, which earned him a nod to the All-California Classic Team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Swider has started all five Summer League games for the Lakers between Sacramento and Vegas, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/basketball.realgm.com\/player\/Cole-Swider\/GameLogs\/108205\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">scoring 20 or more points in four of them<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, all on remarkable efficiency (55% FG, 51% 3PT, 76% FT). The ex-Syracuse forward buries most of his threes off the catch\u2014either spotting up or curling off screens\u2014but he is also able to create his own shot with step backs and pump fakes. Such elite shot creation, combined with occasional drives to the basket, has put Swider on the radars of Lakers and NBA fans alike.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cole Swider 21 pts 4 threes 10 rebs vs Pelicans 2025 Summer League\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zHGWEkDpplQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But aside from his shooting, Swider has impacted the game in other ways. He\u2019s become a 6\u20199\u201d double-double machine in Vegas while making plays for others and improving on defense. It\u2019s worth monitoring his growth in those areas going forward, but he\u2019s made a great impression heading into his fourth year in the league.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Background<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cole Swider is no stranger to the Lakers, having earned his first opportunity with them in 2022-23. A two-way contract signing, he played sparingly as a rookie but shone for LA\u2019s G League affiliate, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/gleague\/players\/s\/swideco01d.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">averaging<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 17.6 points on .506\/.436\/.838 shooting splits. The Lakers waived Swider in July 2023, leading him to bounce around on two-way deals with the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons. Though he never found his footing at those stops, he still played very well for their G League teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After another stint in South Bay, Swider earned a <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/southbay.gleague.nba.com\/news\/south-bay-lakers-forward-cole-swider-earns-nba-call-up-with-toronto-raptors\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">call-up to the Toronto Raptors<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in March. In eight games (19 MPG), he put up 7.4 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 37% from the field and 35% from deep. As Swider continues his NBA journey, there\u2019s no doubt his summertime play could generate interest from teams with open roster spots.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Could Lakers, Swider Reunite?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the Lakers have plenty of young talent vying for training camp invites, Swider could be a favorite for LA\u2019s remaining two-way contract spot (should <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kolokch01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christian Koloko<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> decline a <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KeithSmithNBA\/status\/1939313470891069865\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reported offer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). The team <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.hoopsrumors.com\/2025\/07\/2025-26-nba-two-way-contract-tracker.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">currently has<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> center <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jemistr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trey Jemison<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and rookie forward <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/eric-dixon-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eric Dixon<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the other two-way deals, and Swider\u2014with his natural shooting ability and opportunity for growth\u2014seems like a natural fit for the Lakers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Swider is the perfect type of player to have next to James, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/reaveau01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Austin Reaves<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as an outstanding shooter and overall three-level scorer. If the Lakers want to improve on their <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/traditional?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=FG3_PCT\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mediocre three-point shooting<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and build on their player development program, Cole Swider could be their guy if the opportunity presents itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Candice Ward-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While all eyes are on LeBron James\u2019 future with the Lakers, Summer League is the perfect time to see what that future could hold. Among many young players making names for themselves in Las Vegas is Cole Swider, who has turned heads as a sharpshooter and could find himself donning the purple and gold long [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":150131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62],"tags":[50193,4556,2413,38,1133],"class_list":["post-150127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-2025-nba-summer-league","tag-austin-reaves","tag-cole-swider","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150127"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150132,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150127\/revisions\/150132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}