Story by
The ‘Swiss Army Knife’ approach Chris Mañon is bringing into 2nd Lakers season
- Story by
- The ‘Swiss Army Knife’ approach Chris Mañon is bringing into 2nd Lakers season
The 'Swiss Army Knife' approach Chris Mañon is bringing into 2nd Lakers season appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
LAS VEGAS – Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers used two of their two-way contract players quite often in Drew Timme and Nick Smith Jr. In Smith's case, his contract was eventually converted to a standard deal. But the Lakers third two-way contract player, Chris Mañon didn't see much playing time as a rookie , and now he's looking to show that he can make an impact while at NBA Summer League.
Advertisement
Chris Mañon played for the Golden State Warriors during NBA Summer League last year, and didn't sign with the Lakers until afterwards. He suffered an injury during preseason and was sidelined for a brief period before making his debut a couple of games into the 2025-26 season.
With the Lakers signing AK Okereke and Peter Suder this offseason, Mañon is now the elder statesman as far as the team's two-way contracts go. He was praised last season for his defensive work ethic by Lakers head coach JJ Redick , and now he's trying to show an expanded game this summer.
Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)
"Just trying to space the floor, be a threat offensively," Mañon said following the Lakers' summer league win against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. "I'd say being someone that's a 'Swiss Army Knife' that can be reliable to do anything at this point."
Advertisement
Mañon had his best offensive game of the summer during the win against the Bulls, finishing with a team-high 16 points. He shot 5-of-7 from the field and 1-of-1 from the 3-point line. It was also his most efficient game of Summer League thus far.
He spent most of his rookie season playing with the Lakers' G League affiliate in South Bay, and he garnered a reputation as a tough defender, making the G League's All-Defensive Team. He's still using a defensive-minded approach, but a lot of his focus this offseason has been increasing his offensive efficiency.
"I've been in LA all summer working on different things, offensively mostly," Mañon said. "So I'm glad it's working out for me and I'm able to be a little bit more efficient. I think last game I was a little inefficient. This game I was pretty efficient and I'm glad for sure."
Throughout the G League season with South Bay, Mañon was tasked with showing the intangibles outside of scoring by then head coach Zach Guthrie, the things that will help him get NBA minutes quicker. For Lakers' Summer League head coach Ty Abbott, that means slowing the game down and not forcing things, something he's seen Mañon excel at this summer.
Advertisement
"He's done a really, really good job of playing to next actions, allowing the game to come to him. Nothing is forced. He's playing for his teammates and he's playing for his team which in turn, they are playing for him as well," Abbott said following the Lakers' win against the Bulls. "He's done a really good job of not forcing the issue. He was turning defense into offense which is always good for us. And he's taken his opportunities on the offensive end and executing in the halfcourt."
Related: Cameron Carr's biggest red flag from 2026 Lakers Summer League
