New Los Angeles Lakers big man Christian Koloko, whose NBA career had been temporarily derailed by a blood clot issue, shared an optimistic message on his health after signing a two-way deal with Los Angeles.
“I feel amazing,” Koloko said.
“My doctors gave me the green light but now we’re just waiting on the NBA. We’re pretty optimistic. Hopefully, everything goes well.”
The Lakers bolstered their frontcourt depth for the 2024-25 season by adding Koloko to the roster. Los Angeles needed more help behind players like Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and Jaxson Hayes after Christian Wood underwent surgery on his knee that will keep him out of the lineup early in the campaign.
Wood was an important player for the Lakers’ depth last season, as he played in 50 games and averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from 3-point range.
It’s possible that Koloko will get a shot to play some minutes for the Lakers in the 2024-25 season if he plays well in training camp and in the preseason (assuming he gets the green light medically from the league).
“I’m just gonna come in ready,” Koloko said, “Be ready to do whatever it takes to have the team win and that’s the goal — win!”
A second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors, Koloko played in 58 games as a rookie, making 19 starts. He averaged 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 block in 13.8 minutes per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field.
Health issues kept Koloko out of the entire 2023-24 season, but it appears he’s ready to continue his career this season. At just 24 years old, Koloko is a solid player for the Lakers to take a shot on to see if he can be a long-term fit with the franchise.
After making the playoffs last season and losing in the first round, the Lakers are looking to bounce back in the 2024-25 campaign. They didn’t make any massive changes to their roster – their biggest addition was arguably drafting Dalton Knecht in the first round – but they still have a solid core headlined by LeBron James and Davis that could make a deep playoff run.
It’ll be interesting to see if Koloko can crack new head coach J.J. Redick’s rotation at times in the 2024-25 season.
