Big man Christian Koloko, who is on a two-way contract with the Lakers, has received medical clearance from the NBA’s Fitness-to-Play panel that will allow him to resume his career, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Koloko missed all of the 2023/24 season due to a career-threatening blood clot issue. His agent, Calvin Andrews, said over the summer that the former Raptor underwent corrective surgery to address that issue.
After being cleared to resume working out and scrimmaging, Koloko caught on with the Lakers, signing a two-way contract last month with the club. However, he still required formal clearance from the league, whose Fitness-to-Play panel (which consists of three physicians) has the final say in instances of career-threatening health conditions.
Now that he has gotten the go-ahead from the league, Koloko will start practicing with the Lakers this week and is set to begin his ramp-up process toward game action, says Charania.
I’d expect the 7’1″ center to spend some time in the G League before he makes his Lakers debut at the NBA level, but we’ll have to wait to see what L.A.’s plan is. The South Bay Lakers’ season doesn’t begin until November 9 and the NBA’s Lakers are missing some depth up front with Christian Wood recovering from knee surgery.
The 33rd overall pick in the 2022 draft, Koloko appeared in 58 games (19 starts) for the Raptors as a rookie, averaging 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.0 block in 13.8 minutes per contest. He was the Pac 12’s Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player in his final college season at Arizona in 2021/22
Under the radar pickup for the Lakers as it’s only a matter of time before the next AD injury. It’ll probably take him some time to get back up to speed, but he could be a factor in the 2nd half.