The Los Angeles Lakers have made it a focus to develop young talent and they took a swing on Christian Koloko before the start of the 2024-25 season. Koloko hadn’t played in an NBA game since he was diagnosed with a blood clot in 2023, almost jeopardizing his playing career.
Even after Koloko signed his two-way deal with the Lakers, he still had to wait to be cleared by the NBA’s fitness-to-play panel. Fortunately, Koloko got clearance shortly after the regular season began and he made his first NBA appearance for the Lakers on Nov. 6 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Although Koloko looked predictably rusty in his return to the court, he showed flashes of what he could be in the league as a rim-running lob threat who can defend the rim as well. Koloko is a much thinner big man who gets pushed around in the paint, but his length and agility make him a solid lob target and deterrent in the painted area.
Because he of his two-way deal, Koloko was capped out on how many games he could play with the parent team so he got plenty of reps with the South Bay Lakers. Down in the G League, Koloko began to resemble the prospect he used to be as he looked much more comfortable running the floor and impacting the game on both ends.
While Los Angeles needed another center option behind Jaxson Hayes in the playoffs, they opted to keep Koloko on a two-way deal instead of converting him to a standard NBA deal. Koloko eventually suited up for the Lakers in Summer League and was re-signed on another two-way deal after an impressive run in Las Vegas.
2024-25 Highlight
With Anthony Davis out, Koloko got extended run with the Lakers to begin the new calendar year. Koloko turned in his best performance of the regular season against the Portland Trail Blazers, recording eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal.
It was a great showing from Koloko who helped Los Angeles capture the win over Portland and gave the organization a real glimpse into what kind of player he can develop into.
2025-26 Outlook
Re-signing Koloko to another two-year deal was a no-brainer for the Lakers as he continued to develop throughout the summer. While he might find it hard to see real minutes on the parent team next season, there’s optimism that there’s more upside to unearth through reps in the G League.
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