The contract essentially lands Kaluma a tryout for the team’s G-league affiliate.
After going unselected in the 2025 NBA Draft, Texas Longhorns forward Arthur Kaluma signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, according to a report from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Introduced in 2017, the Exhibit 10 agreement is a one-year, non-guaranteed deal during which the Summer League will essentially serve as Kaluma’s tryout for the South Bay Lakers, the organization’s G-League affiliate.
When Kaluma committed to Texas last July as the final addition to former head coach Rodney Terry’s staff, he was the top remaining player in the NCAA transfer portal and the No. 68 player overall, according to 247Sports. Kaluma’s decision came nearly a month after Texas missed on New Mexico State transfer forward JT Toppin, who signed with Texas Tech.
A Glendale, Ariz. native, Kaluma was a consensus four-star recruit and top-50 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class when he signed with Creighton out of Dream City Christian over offers from high majors like Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Syracuse, and Texas A&M.
Kaluma adjusted quickly to the college game, becoming a starter under head coach Greg McDermott, averaging 10.4 points per game on 44 percent shooting, including 26.5 percent from three-point range, adding 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
As a sophomore, Kaluma remained relatively inefficient from the field, shooting 42.3 percent, but he did improve his per-game scoring average to 11.4 points per game and hit 31.1 percent of his three-point attempts while securing 6.0 rebounds per game.
After transferring to Kansas State, Kaluma improved his scoring average and shooting once again, averaging 14.4 points on 34.5-percent shooting from three and leading the Wildcats in free-throw attempts. Kaluma also emerged as a high-level defensive rebounder.
For Texas, Kaluma averaged fewer minutes than he did at Kansas State, and his scoring average dropped in concert, from 14.4 points per game to 12.3 points per game, but his shooting percentage, three-point shooting percentage, rebounds per game, blocks per game, and steals per game all increased. Kaluma led the team in rebounds, shining especially on the defensive glass, and finished second in total points scored.
Kaluma was able to significantly decrease his turnover rate with the Longhorns — from 20.5 percent to 14.5 percent — and served as a solid secondary playmaker with 60 assists, which tied for third on the team with guard Jordan Pope, although the slow release on his jump shot made it difficult for Kaluma to become a volume three-point shooter even though he was efficient at 35.9 percent and limits his ability to take and make contested shots in general.