Now that the NBA has cleared Christian Koloko to return to the court, his next step is a stint with the South Bay Lakers.
It’s been a long road for Christian Koloko, but he’ll be back playing basketball sooner rather than later.
The Lakers got great news on Tuesday, with the NBA clearing him to return to the court.
JJ Redick told reporters before the team’s matchup against the Cavs that Koloko will play in games with the South Bay Lakers as part of his return-to-play process.
On a two-way contract, Koloko will often be splitting his time between South Bay and the main team, so being on a G League assignment while awaiting a call to play with the Lakers will be something he’ll be doing a lot of this season.
Koloko was last fully healthy during his rookie season with the Toronto Raptors back in the 2022-23 NBA season. That year, he averaged 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and one block per game in 13.8 minutes of play.
Naturally, coming off this blood clot issue that’s kept him on the sidelines for so long, he’ll need to ease into things. This is likely why Redick didn’t want to elaborate on a timeline for the Lakers center.
As a two-way player, fans shouldn’t expect Koloko to have a big role on this roster.
However, he does give the Lakers an additional big and they desperately need one with Christian Wood out recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.
If Koloko impresses during his stint at South Bay, he might get called up so the Lakers can use his NBA availability for some games until Wood gets off the injury report.
For now, it’s positive that everyone deems Koloko’s playing in the NBA a medically safe option and he can continue on with his career.
In the best-case scenario, he shines in the G League, plays for the Lakers and does so well that vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka has to consider turning his two-way deal into a permanent roster spot.
One step at a time though, Koloko’s main objective now is to make up for lost time and prepare for the South Bay game beginning this November.