Cole Swider 2023 Lakers Player Capsule

2022-23 Season Summary:
Playing on a two-way contract in his rookie season, Cole Swider made seven appearances for the Lakers but spent most of the year playing in the G-League for South Bay where he made 27 appearances -- including 19 as a starter. Swider came into this campaign known as a high-level shooter and lived up to his reputation, burying 43.6% of his three-pointers and 50.6% of his shots overall en route to scoring 17.1 points a game as a floor-spacing, stretch power forward who also added 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game.

By The Numbers:
119.5: Offensive Rating of the South Bay Lakers when Swider was on the court this season, the second-best mark of any player on the team. While team offensive rating is never only about a single individual, Swider's shot making and floor spacing clearly helped South Bay's offense play to a strong level whenever he was on the floor.

89: Number of three-pointers Swider made in his 27 games with South Bay, tied for the 9th most in the G-League this season. Of the 10 players who hit the most threes this year, Swider's 43.6% shooting from behind the arc was the second-best percentage.

52.5%: Percentage of corner three-pointers Swider hit this season with South Bay. While Swider's shooting translated all over the floor, nowhere was he more prolific than from the corners.

Moving Forward:
Swider spent this past season proving capable of being a knock down shooter and, at 6'9" and 220 pounds, that sort of marksmanship at that size is a quality that will always have value. In order to find an avenue towards a more consistent role and an eventual full-time spot in the NBA, Swider will need to continue to hit shots, but also prove his focus can shift to making strides as a team defender that leverages his size and instincts for how offenses operate into being in the correct positions and making the right rotations on the other side of the floor.