{"id":155850,"date":"2025-08-22T09:10:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T13:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=155850"},"modified":"2025-08-22T09:13:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T13:13:23","slug":"lakers-son-lithuanian-hall-famer-augustas-marciulionis-injury-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/22\/lakers-son-lithuanian-hall-famer-augustas-marciulionis-injury-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Rookie Speaks On &#8216;Worst Possible&#8217; Injury, Draft Process"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Lakers guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesbr02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bronny James<\/a>, the son of basketball prodigy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a>, used to be the only player on the roster with a Hall of Fame pedigree. That&#8217;s more than understandable with only 238 former basketball players enshrined in Springfield out of the 5,313 that have played at least one game in the NBA. Yet, with L.A. signing point guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/marciau01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Augustas Mar\u010diulionis<\/a>, he now has what he could consider a kindred spirit.<\/p>\n<h2>Lakers&#8217; Augustas Mar\u010diulioni Speaks On Injury, Draft<\/h2>\n<p>Mar\u010diulionis is the son of Hall of Fame wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/marcisa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u0160ar\u016bnas Mar\u010diulionis<\/a>, a sixth-round pick in the 1987 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n<p>His father was a trailblazer, breaking into the league at a time when most NBA personnel didn&#8217;t think very highly foreign players. He wasn&#8217;t able to officially debut until two years after he was drafted, the reasons for which are covered quite succinctly in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1989\/11\/05\/magazine\/a-soviet-hoopster-in-the-promised-land.html?pagewanted=all\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a 1989 New York Times article<\/a>. Still, in just his third season, he finished as a Sixth Man of the Year finalist after averaging 18.9 points, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 29.4 minutes per game.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bEm5WE8kITk?si=XjwBiuzoan1fjcCk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The younger Mar\u010diulionis doesn&#8217;t have his father&#8217;s size, shooting stroke, or potency. Where he does compare favorably is his playmaking. In this way too, he&#8217;s a mirror for the younger James, though he left college as <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/27\/west-coast-conference-player-spotlight-augustas-marciulionis\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a much more polished prospect<\/a>. At St. Mary&#8217;s, the two-time WCC Player of the Year averaged 13.3 points, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals in his last two seasons.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pbx0gfUYOmM?si=mDXpvpjRdUqfpXC9\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Though not a prototypical athlete, Mar\u010diulionis is a creative off-the-dribble scorer. This lends itself to his ability to get others involved. Defenses can&#8217;t treat him as a non-factor, which would make it easier to cut off his passing lanes. However, the secret ingredient in his success is his high basketball IQ.<\/p>\n<h3>&#8216;Period Of Uncertainty&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>Mar\u010diulionis wasn&#8217;t able to play for the Lakers Summer League team <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DraftExpress\/status\/1938440578099749078\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">after undergoing foot surgery<\/a> in June. The good thing is that L.A. was already aware of the injury before they signed him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I probably got injured at the worst possible moment,&#8221; Mar\u010diulionis tells BasketNews journalist Vaidas Jukavi\u010dius.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_155861\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-155861\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-155861\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25732431_168404789_lowres-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25732431_168404789_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25732431_168404789_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25732431_168404789_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25732431_168404789_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25732431_168404789_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25732431_168404789_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25732431_168404789_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-155861\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar 21, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; St. Mary&#8217;s Gaels guard Augustas Marciulionis (3) dribbles the ball defended by Vanderbilt Commodores guard Jason Edwards (1) in the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;That whole period of uncertainty\u2014when I didn\u2019t know how things would turn out\u2014was tough. And then the Lakers option came along. But there\u2019s still a lot to prove and a lot of work to earn a full contract.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That being said, Mar\u010diulionis reveals that L.A. &#8220;showed (him) a lot of attention both in interviews and when it came to signing.&#8221; With that in mind, the 23-year-old is a culture fit for the Lakers if nothing else. Both Jameses will likely appreciate his approach as a floor general. Lakers head coach JJ Redick, known as a basketball junkie, should as well. Then there&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a>, who will probably share these sentiments while feeling a deeper connection to Mar\u010diulionis <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/18\/luka-doncic-slovenia-lakers-challenge\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">due to their European heritage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4>FAQ<\/h4>\n<p>Mar\u010diulionis&#8217;\u00a0transaction doesn&#8217;t appear in the NBA&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/players\/transactions?TeamID=1610612747\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">official transaction log<\/a>. Instead, L.A.&#8217;s newcomers are listed as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thierad01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adou Thiero<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/laravja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jake LaRavia<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smartma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcus Smart<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/manonch01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Ma\u00f1on<\/a>. Ma\u00f1on is the only one who didn&#8217;t get a standard deal, signing a two-way contract instead.<\/p>\n<p>However, Mar\u010diulionis signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Los Angeles. Exhibit 10 contracts are one-year non-guaranteed minimum-salary deals that won&#8217;t count against a team&#8217;s salary cap. That is, unless it&#8217;s converted into a two-way or standard contract. As a result, these deals <em>don&#8217;t<\/em> show up on the NBA&#8217;s official transaction log.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Mar\u010diulionis is one of four players that the Lakers have signed to an Exhibit 10 contract this offseason, joining fellow undrafted rookies <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kalumar01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Arthur Kaluma<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisrj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RJ Davis<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dixoner01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Erix Dixon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Ken Blaze-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James, the son of basketball prodigy LeBron James, used to be the only player on the roster with a Hall of Fame pedigree. That&#8217;s more than understandable with only 238 former basketball players enshrined in Springfield out of the 5,313 that have played at least one game in the NBA. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":155865,"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":[26,1608,2,61,62,556,3],"tags":[49513,4572,38,98,4745,50260],"class_list":["post-155850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","category-basketball","category-featured","category-international-basketball","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-news","tag-augustas-marciulionis","tag-bronny-james","tag-lebron-james","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-injuries","tag-sarunas-marciulionis"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155850","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\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155850"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155871,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155850\/revisions\/155871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}