The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t sign a single player from another team in free agency to a standard contract last offseason, which drew the ire of many of their fans. But they did take a flyer on Christian Koloko, a former second-round draft pick in 2022.
Koloko had shown a bit of potential as a rookie with the Toronto Raptors, but he was forced to miss all of the 2023-24 season due to a blood clot issue. The Lakers signed him to a two-way contract late last summer, and luckily, he was cleared to play by the NBA.
At times, he looked like he could have the potential to eventually become a rotational player for Los Angeles. But it also became clear that he still has plenty of work to do before he becomes that type of player.
In 37 games with the Lakers, Koloko averaged 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in 9.2 minutes a game this season. He shot 60.6% from the field and 71.4% from the free throw line.
Koloko is an intriguing prospect. He stands seven feet tall and weighs 225 pounds, and he reportedly has an impressive 7-foot-6 wingspan. As a junior at the University of Arizona, he averaged 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds, as well as a Pac-12 high 2.8 blocks per game.
With the Lakers, he got mostly spot duty and showed the potential to be a lob threat in the pick-and-roll game, which is something they need moving forward now that Luka Doncic is their main man in their halfcourt offense
He isn’t a monstrous rebounder, perhaps because of his lean frame, but there were times when he did a good job on both the defensive and offensive boards. Against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 2, he grabbed eight rebounds and scored eight points in 19 minutes, and in the regular-season finale against the Trail Blazers, he posted another eight rebounds.
In that final regular-season game, he also blocked five shots. His defensive instincts likely need work, and he hasn’t shown himself to be adept at moving out onto the perimeter on switches, but the potential may be there.
His offensive game is very limited, but all the Lakers really need from their centers is to convert on lob passes and run the floor in transition for easy baskets on the break or in early offense.
Koloko went back-and-forth between the NBA and the G League this season, and in 10 regular-season games with the South Bay Lakers, he put up 14.8 points, 8.3 boards and 3.1 blocks a contest.
His two-way contract wasn’t converted into a standard contract by the end of the regular season, which meant he was ineligible to play during the playoffs. Plenty of fans criticized that decision, but given how badly L.A. was beaten by the Minnesota Timberwolves, he likely wouldn’t have made enough of a difference.
Since Los Angeles signed Koloko to a one-year deal, he will be a restricted free agent this summer. That means he shouldn’t cost much for the team to keep him around and try to develop him.
Keeping him around and developing him sounds like a good idea. However, Lakers fans shouldn’t expect him to become as reliable a contributor as JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard were during the team’s 2020 championship run.
Perhaps Koloko’s realistic ceiling is as a third-string center who can play about 5-10 minutes a game and, in short spurts, play a greater number of minutes in case of an injury. But fans who may be expecting him to become a starting-level player or even a second-stringer will likely end up disappointed.
