The Los Angeles Lakers picked up college star big man Robbie Avila over the offseason, and while he played two games with the team during Summer League, the 23-year-old is officially headed back to St. Louis University.
Avila was in a lengthy legal battle over the NBA offseason in an attempt to get granted one more year of college eligibility, and while he did appear in two games for the Lakers over the summer, he’s now going back to the university where he became one of the centers in the collegiate ranks.
The Lakers need another backup center, so while there was never a huge expectation that Avila would be on the roster this season, Los Angeles finally gets some closure on the center they picked up over the summer.
Lakers Lose Robbie Avila After Legal Battle
While Avila signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Lakers after going undrafted, reports continued to emerge that the center was looking to make a college return.
While he was fighting for a fifth year of eligibility, reports emerged that he was once again enrolled in school after his brief Summer League stint with the Lakers.
“Also in recent days, Avila’s name showed up as a registered student at SLU in the school for professional studies, a move likely made to ensure he is registered should his case be successful,” Stu Durando reported.
Most recently, after his legal fight to get granted an injunction to return to St. Louis for this college season, that was granted, and he’s officially set to return to school.
“Saint Louis forward Robbie Avila, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year who became a sensation for his signature specs at Indiana State, was granted a preliminary injunction Thursday to play a fifth season of college basketball for the Billikens,” the Associated Press reported on November 5. “St. Louis City Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser also ruled that Saint Louis can have a 16th roster spot for Avila until a trial is held, which could be several months from now, effectively clearing the 23-year-old to play for the entire season.”
Currently, the college basketball landscape is somewhat wild, as some players have returned to the non-professional ranks after playing in the NBA. However, for Avila, he never officially signed a deal with the Lakers, so his college return was a bit more straightforward.
“Making the situation even more bizarre is that some of those athletes, including Avila, spent time playing for professional teams. In his case, Avila played for the Los Angeles Lakers during the NBA’s summer league, though he never signed a pro contract.”
Avila played the first two seasons of his college career at Indiana State, putting up solid numbers before transferring to St. Louis University in 2024, where he’s spent the last two seasons.
St. Louis has already played one game in the 2026-27 collegiate season, but will now get the star center back for the rest of the year.
Through his 134 total college games, Avila has averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on 51.6% shooting.
Los Angeles Still Needs Another Center
As mentioned, there was never an expectation that Avila would stay with the Lakers, nor become a consistent contributor on this year’s roster.
However, despite that, Los Angeles is still in major need of another big man. The front office made a massive gamble, sending four first-round picks to the Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler, which, so far, has been a great move.
However, outside of Kessler, the Lakers’ only other true center is Kevon Looney, and he hasn’t been what the team hoped for in the non-Kessler minutes.
The franchise recently picked up Lawson Lovering on a two-way contract, but he hasn’t played much so far and will likely only be playing limited minutes in a reserve role.
Sandro Mamukelashvili is the Lakers’ stretch-five option, and while he’s been solid so far, the team is lacking a true backup big man, at least in the traditional sense, as someone who can protect the rim, grab rebounds, and roll to the hoop when playing a two-man game with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Los Angeles is reportedly exploring the trade market for another center, but so far, nothing has happened yet.
What is clear now is that it won’t be Avila, as he’s now headed back to college after getting granted a fifth year of eligibility.
Los Angeles Lakers Quietly Lose Young Center After Legal Battle