Lakers officially announce signing of 2.13m center: last season’s G League block leader and member of the All-Defensive Team

On August 26th Beijing time, the Los Angeles Lakers officially announced the signing of center Kaleb Kelly. This is reportedly a training camp deal.

Kelly is 2.13 meters tall and weighs 104 kilograms. Last season, he played for the New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks, featuring in 11 NBA regular-season games (2 starts), averaging 11.5 minutes per game with 3.1 points and 3.5 rebounds. Notably, on February 2nd against the Cavaliers, Kelly made his first NBA career start and recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, along with 1 assist and 1 block.

During four seasons in the NBA G League, Kelly has played for the South Bay Lakers (2024-25), Maine Celtics (2023-24), Raptors 905 (2022-23), and Austin Spurs (2020-21), totaling 108 games (58 starts). He averaged 20.1 minutes, 8.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game.

At 27 years old, during the 2024-25 season with the South Bay Lakers, he played 32 games (27 starts), averaging 26.7 minutes and achieving a career-high shooting percentage of 68.2%, scoring 11.5 points per game, along with 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 2.4 blocks.

Thanks to leading the league in blocks per game, Kelly was named to the 2024 NBA G League All-Defensive Team. Besides his NBA and G League experience, Kelly has also competed internationally, playing in leagues in Canada (2022-23), Denmark (2022-23), and England (2021-22).

In college, Kelly played two seasons at Oregon State University. In his senior year, he started all 31 games, averaging 29.1 minutes, 11.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. His block numbers ranked first in the Pac-12 Conference and second nationally, earning him a spot on the conference’s All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive season.