​LAS VEGAS — Sandro Mamukelashvili is still a few months away from taking his first real shot with the Lakers, the main objective after he signed a four-year, $52 million contract with the franchise shortly after free agency opened last week. But on Saturday night, while the Lakers’ summer league squad battled the Mavericks at the Thomas & Mack Center, Mamukelashvili was taking a different kind of shot for his new team: he was behind the lens as a photographer.
Mamukelashvili arrived in Los Angeles as a member of the Lakers after agreeing to the multi-year deal, and that night he became the latest NBA player to swap his jersey for a camera, shooting the first half of the summer league game from the front row of the courtside media section inside the arena. He told the California Post that he loves doing extra stuff and has even earned the nickname “Side Quest King.” “So I definitely love it. I’m enjoying it. I’m learning a lot,” he said.
Photography has long interested Mamukelashvili. He joked about aiming for artsy shots that sometimes don’t make sense, though he admits he still needs to justify why certain images are good. That curiosity quickly collided with the practical challenges of the craft as he tried to balance artistic ambition with the realities of live action around him. Early in the game, after Arthur Kaluma’s pump-and-drive layup four and a half minutes in, Mamukelashvili exclaimed, “Ahh, I missed it!” when the ball sailed by, a candid moment that illustrated how he was immersing himself in the process.
Segued into his new role, Mamukelashvili explained that he enjoys zooming in, but he had to learn how to balance how close to the action he got with how much of the scene to let breathe. The weight of the camera soon became noticeable, and by the second quarter he began stretching his wrists as he adjusted the lens, realizing how difficult it can be to keep steady and to zoom precisely while keeping the subject in frame. “Oh my God, it’s crazy, how hard is it to hold the camera steady at the same time, make sure you zoom in correctly, zoom out,” he told the Post. “Definitely need some strength on your wrist, it’s tough.”
During a Lakers fast break in the first quarter, he was heard issuing a quiet mantra to himself: “Run, run, run… give me action.” On another occasion he was heard saying, “I’m ready… I’m ready.” He settled into his role by sitting in the press row after capturing a few shots to share with reporters, clearly eager to showcase his work.
Mamukelashvili even found himself cheering for a Mavericks player to dunk, a playful display of his immersion in the moment. When the Post asked him who he was rooting for, he replied with a grin, “I need a statement!” The challenge, as he described it, was to capture the right moment—the precise instance that would translate into a compelling image.
At one point in the first quarter, Mamukelashvili evaluated his own progress, giving his photography a grade of B+. “Still got a little bit of action to go,” he said, “so, let’s see what I can cook up here.” And then he rose to the moment, capturing William Kyle III’s two-handed dunk late in the opening period, a shot that raised his self-assessed grade to an A-. By the time the second quarter began, Mamukelashvili found his focus sharpened and his approach more refined, navigating the interplay between action and composition with growing confidence.
As he begins his Lakers tenure, Mamukelashvili’s side quest as a photographer stands out as a testament to his willingness to explore every aspect of the game—from the court to the lens. For now, his NBA future remains the central mission, but his early experiences behind the camera offer a unique glimpse into how he plans to approach the professional ladder, both on and off the court.