The Lakers and seven-foot center Christian Koloko have agreed on a deal, agent Calvin Andrews of Klutch Sports says. Koloko is expected to have an opportunity for a role in Lakers frontcourt after he receives clearance from league’s fitness panel.
Koloko missed all of the 2023-24 NBA season after he suffered from a life-threatening blood clot. Earlier this summer, doctors were able to perform a corrective surgery according to Koloko’s agent, Calvin Andrews.
The Lakers needed a big man after losing Christian Wood to knee surgery. Koloko figures to play lots of minutes behind Anthony Davis.
Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others.
The biggest change to the franchise was the hiring of J.J. Redick. After a 47-35 record, good for just seventh in the Western Conference, the Lakers were quickly bounced from the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets in five games. Another long defensive big to take on the likes of Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Victor Wembanyama and others adds another wrinkle to the Lakers’ arsenal.
Koloko was a dominant presence in college. The 2022 First-team All-Pac-12 player was also the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the Pac-12 Most Improve Player and named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. He averaged 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.
Although still very young, the Lakers have added another piece to shore up a middling defense in 2023-24. Los Angeles allowed 117.4 points per game, eighth-worst and allowed 37.6% from 3-pt range, tied for sixth-worst. They also allowed 51.3 points in the paint per game, 10th-worst. Koloko should be able to help those numbers across the board.
