{"id":196049,"date":"2026-05-19T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=196049"},"modified":"2026-05-19T00:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T04:07:22","slug":"lakers-henri-veesaar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/19\/lakers-henri-veesaar\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers May Have Perfect Prospect in UNC’s Henri Veesaar"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the 2026 NBA Draft over a month away, three clear needs have emerged for the Los Angeles Lakers: athleticism, defense and 3-point shooting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter UNC\u2019s <\/span>Henri Veesaar<\/span><\/a>, who checks all those boxes and then some for any contender with a first-round pick. The fact that he boasts those traits at 7 feet tall is an encouraging sign for the Lakers, who are looking high and low for centers as their offseason gets underway.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lakers May Have Perfect Prospect in UNC’s Henri Veesaar<\/h2>\n

Veesaar\u2019s Stats and Skills<\/h3>\n

A 7-foot junior who spent this past season at Chapel Hill after transferring from Arizona, Veesaar has commanded attention as a two-way stretch big. In 31 games (all starts) this year, he averaged a career-best 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 blocks while shooting 60.8% shooting from the field and 42.6% from deep. He earned <\/span>All-ACC second team<\/span><\/a> honors for his efforts and later made the ACC\u2019s <\/span>All-Tournament<\/span><\/a> squad. Veesaar ended his campaign with a 28-point, 17-rebound showing in UNC\u2019s upset loss to VCU in the NCAA Tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n