For the second straight season, Chris Mañon, a 6-foot-4 guard who went undrafted in 2025 out of Vanderbilt University, is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers ' roster on a two-way contract. While he barely played last season, he has shown glimpses of promise in both the G League and summer league over the past 15 months or so.
He is known as a defensive pest who will get in the face of the man he's guarding and sacrifice his body to go after loose balls. Offensively, he is a work in progress, and the hope is that he'll improve his 3-point shooting and become a passable ball-handler and facilitator.
Coach JJ Redick said on Thursday that the Lakers are "invested" in Mañon's development.
"Really like Chris," Redick said. "We had him in for a draft workout, I think we maybe had him in for two draft workouts. Then he was with Golden State during the California Classic and really popped against us, so we started working that pretty much immediately with his agent because he wasn't on a two-way. So we're invested in him and we're invested in his development, in his career. I thought he played really well against Sacramento."
In L.A.'s first preseason game of 2026 on Monday versus the Sacramento Kings, Mañon got 12 minutes of playing time and scored 12 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line, to go along with five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. He then had seven points on 3-of-8 shooting, four rebounds, two steals and one block the following night against the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers have gotten considerably younger this season, partly in order to match the timelines of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and they have placed a greater emphasis on player development ever since Redick became their head coach in the summer of 2024. Mañon is one of a few young prospects they're evaluating to see if he can be part of their core for years moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: JJ Redick: Lakers are 'invested' in the development of Chris Mañon
