LOS ANGELES – Since the beginning of the season, one of the biggest talking points surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers is their need for frontcourt depth, specifically a starting caliber center. Anthony Davis clamored for one before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. But the Lakers might have the future answer down in the G League with South Bay in Christian Koloko.
The Lakers signed Christian Koloko to a two-way contract near the beginning of the season, and have shuffled him back and forth between the G League and South Bay, and the main roster.
He’s appeared in 29 games for the Lakers and a total of seven games with South Bay for both the Showcase Cup and regular season portions of the schedule. Following a recent South Bay game back on Feb. 3, Koloko spoke about adjusting to the shuffle of splitting time between the Lakers’ active roster and the G League.
“It’s tough, it’s tough, but that’s the reality of the two-way,” Koloko said. “We’re on a ten day road trip. . .then when you come here you got to play 35 minutes. I think it’s pretty tough, but that’s the beauty of being on a two-way. Those are the challenges of being on a two-way. I think I feel kind of used to it.”
When the Lakers opened up a roster spot following the Mark Williams trade with the Charlotte Hornets, Koloko seemed to be an early candidate to fill that spot via his two-way contract being converted to a standard deal.
But the trade was rescinded, giving the Lakers a full 15-man roster once again. The team cut Christian Wood, thus freeing up a roster spot, but they opted to sign Alex Len for the stretch run of the regular season.
While Koloko has shown flashes of being a rotational center, he is limited to only 21 more games on his two-way contract, and will be ineligible for the playoffs.
Christian Koloko as defensive anchor for Lakers
Since Koloko has been in the NBA, defense has been his calling card. He’s a mobile big man with good timing on his blocks. He can switch defensively, he can keep up with ball-handlers and he blocks shots not only in the paint but on jumpers as well.
He’s had a bit of a resurgence after sitting out all of last season due to a medical issue. Koloko was flagged with a blood clot following his rookie season with Toronto Raptors in 2022-23. The No. 33 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Koloko has shown glimpses of the player the Raptors saw in him.
With South Bay, he plays a defensive anchor role as well, roaming the paint and stopping drives to the rim. It’s a role that he’s felt comfortable with.
“I always pride myself on defense. That’s been the main part of my game my whole career. . .just my defense. I think that’s what gets me going,” Koloko said. “I’m not really a scorer so some games I know I’m not going to score a lot. But I’m always trying to be that defensive presence and just being out there protecting my teammates.”
In five games in the G League during the regular season part of the schedule, Koloko has been averaging 13.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 3.8 blocked shots while shooting 56.8 percent from the field. During his rookie season with the Raptors, he averaged 1.0 blocked shots.
It might not be this season, but Koloko could have an inside track at being an impact center for the Lakers, sooner rather than later.
The post Christian Koloko gets brutally honest on Lakers-G League shuffle appeared first on ClutchPoints.
