After a draft-day trade to move up one spot, the Lakers selected Baylor guard Cameron Carr with the No. 24 pick in the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday night.
The Lakers were originally slotted to have the No. 25 pick in the draft on Tuesday, but moved up one spot after a trade with the Knicks.
The Knicks sent the Lakers the No. 24 pick for the Lakers’ original first round pick, with the Lakers also sending the Knicks cash to acquire the draft rights of Carr, which will hard cap the Lakers at the $222 million second apron for the 2026-27 season.
Adam Silver at the 2026 NBA Draft. AP Photo/Yuki IwamuraThe 6-foot-5 Carr had a breakout season with the Bears after two seasons at Tennessee.
The Lakers selected Baylor guard Cameron Carr with the No. 24 pick in the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday night. AP Photo/Adam Hunger
He averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 blocks in 33.7 minutes across 34 games in 2025-26.
Carr shot 49.4% from the field in his lone season at Baylor, including 60.2% on 2-pointers and 37.4% on 3-pointers, showcasing scoring versatility with his shooting, cutting, slashing and athleticism that made him an intriguing prospect.
He set a Baylor single-season sophomore scoring record with 642 points, which ranks fifth in program history regardless of class.
Most mock drafts from major media publications projected Carr to be drafted just outside of the lottery, between picks Nos. 15-20. But he fell to the Lakers, who moved up to take a player who wasn’t expected to be available to them.
A source told the California Post that Carr didn’t have a predraft workout with the Lakers.
Carr played 14 games at Tennessee as a freshman in 2023-24.
He played four games for the Volunteers as a sophomore in 2024-25 before suffering a left thumb injury in November 2024. Carr left Tennessee midseason and entered the transfer portal in December 2024 before committing to Baylor the following month.
The Lakers’ acquisition of Carr’s draft rights weren’t official as Tuesday evening, with the Knicks making multiple trades on Tuesday night.
The newly-crowned NBA champions ultimately made three trades during the first round: The Knicks briefly held the draft rights to Spanish teenager Sergio de Larrea, a 6-foot-6 guard who played for Valencia, after taking him with the No. 25 pick before trading de Larrea to the Mavericks for No. 30 pick Koa Peat and two second-round picks.
The Knicks traded Peat to the Suns for three second-round picks, including the No. 47 on Wednesday.
None of the deals were made official as of Tuesday.
Other facts about Carr:
- Had the second-fastest lane agility time (10.46 seconds), second-highest standing vertical leap (38 inches) and third-highest max vertical leap (42 ½ inches) at the NBA combine in May;
- Had the longest wingspan among (7 ¼ feet) among players 6-foot-6 or shorter at the combine;
- Dad, Chris Carr, played six seasons in the NBA and was the runner-up to late Lakers icon Kobe Bryant in the 1997 Dunk Contest;
- Represented by Drew Gross and Bill Duffy of WME, which is the same agency that represents Lakers superstar Luka Doncic and centers Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes.
