LAS VEGAS — They say America is the land of opportunity, but in the NBA world, that place can be narrowed down to Las Vegas in July.
On Saturday, the Lakers were shorthanded against the Mavericks with Cameron Carr ruled out shortly before tip. Arthur Kaluma took advantage of the opportunity.
He was magnificent in LA’s 91-70 win over Dallas, scoring 34 points on 11-16 shooting from the field, including six of his 10 3-pointers.
“It’s just his confidence,” Lakers coach Ty Abbott said about Kaluma’s game after the win. “And understanding of how to play without the ball in your hand. Last night was a situation where he’s just finding windows, he’s crashing, he’s creating extra possessions, getting putbacks, tip-ins, and he’s getting fouls, and he’s taking advantage of smaller defenders. Today, he had some actions run for him and he was ready.”
A performance like this puts a spotlight on a player and left many wondering if the Lakers should make him a permanent member of the roster.
LA has all three two-way spots by Chris Mañon, AK Okereke and Peter Suder, so Kaluma would have to unseat one of those players. However, just because someone is signed to a two-way contract today doesn’t mean it’ll be that way tomorrow.
While Mañon has had some quality games, Okereke and Suder have struggled during Summer League. And with a performance like this, Kaluma is making a compelling case for LA to figure out how to give him a two-way contract before someone else does.
In LA’s first game in Las Vegas on Friday, he was literally perfect from the field, knocking down all five of his shots and scoring 18 points. Saturday was more of the same.
Kaluma wasted no time getting to work. He scored the team’s second basket with a nice pump fake and then a drive inside. Kaluma absorbed the contact and finished in the paint.
He repeated this process throughout the first half, and then, when the opportunity to hit a three presented itself, he took advantage with a pair of makes from beyond the arc.
During the second half, Kaluma stayed hot. Whenever the Mavericks were threatening a comeback, he seemed to hit a timely three to keep them at bay.
Kaluma has been part of the Lakers ecosystem before. He played with South Bay last year and was also on the Summer League roster. With a year of professional development under his belt, he’s been able to showcase it in Las Vegas.
“There’s a certain hunger that you have to have in order to be successful in the G [League],” Kaluma said. “And I feel like that drive that I had my first year in it pushed me into this summer to really get better and work on my game and come here and have the opportunity to perform at Summer League.”
That’s the thing about a player like Kaluma: he’s trying to carve out a role, so he’ll be hungry and ready for any chance he gets. The moments have arrived for him during Summer League and he’s delivered.
Everyone at Summer League has something to prove. The top draft picks want to prove they are worth the hype. The second-year players are trying to prove they don’t need to be here and the two-way guys want to keep their spots or earn standard deals.
Kaluma fits outside of this box. He is an Exhibit 10 player trying to keep his career going and find a role at a higher level. Thanks to his play this weekend, that moment could happen sooner rather than later.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
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