Arthur Kaluma, a Texas alumnus, signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Los Angeles Lakers after playing for their NBA Summer League squad earlier this month.
Due to his one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the legendary team, Kaluma is able to attend Los Angeles training camp and be assessed for a roster position in the run-up to the season.
The Lakers signed Kaluma on July 26 along with RJ Davis of North Carolina, Eric Dixon of Villanova, and Augustas Mariulionis of St. Mary. Each spent four or five years at the university level, playing their entire career.
Kaluma played in the San Francisco and Las Vegas Summer Leagues four times while wearing purple and gold. The Los Angeles Lakers’ 94-81 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on July 14 at the Thomas and Mack Center was his greatest performance to date.
The former Longhorn scored 12 points on five of eight field goals and two of four three-pointers in 17 minutes. Since Kaluma led all scorers with eight points at the end of the first quarter, a large portion of his offensive contribution came early.
Kaluma, who stands 6 feet 7 inches and weighs 223 pounds, demonstrated his 3-and-D skills and showed signs of dependability on both sides of the court, which the Lakers desperately needed given their existing roster. One aspect of Kaluma’s game that he showed could be carried over to the professional level was his positional diversity on defense, which allowed him to guard opponents of all sizes with ease.
After playing on the Forty Acres during his last year of eligibility, Kaluma graduated from Texas on spring 25. Kaluma played for Creighton for two seasons and Kansas State for one before joining the Longhorns. Over his career, he averaged 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while starting 131 of his 134 collegiate games.
