Arizona's Christian Koloko Finds an NBA Home

The NBA 2025 Summer League is here with new faces getting a chance from organizations and second-year players participating to get more reps and prove themselves to not only their teams but others around the league that are keeping an eye out for talent.

Although it isn’t the same as the regular season, it is a great chance for basketball fans to see young and upcoming talent that could be future stars in the NBA and inspire the next wave of players.

There were six former Wildcats that participated in the Summer league with Caleb Love, Keshad Johnson, Oumar Ballo, Christian Koloko, Trey Townsend and No. 14 overall pick Carter Bryant looking to impress their new teams and find their footing in the NBA.

While playing for the Lakers, Koloko had worked his way into the starting lineup in the summer league and saw his minutes increase each game.

After getting drafted by the Toronto Raptors and developing into a solid big man off the bench, Koloko faced adversity due to blood clots causing him to miss the entire 2023-24 NBA season.

It was reported on Monday by ESPN’s Shams Charania that Koloko has signed a two-way contract with the Lakers after a successful summer league season.

Before his time in this year’s summer league, Koloko has put together he spent his rookie year with the Raptors playing in 58 games while averaging 3.1 PPG and 2.9 RPG and started in 19 total games.

Last year as he was working his way back, Koloko played in 37 games for the Lakers averaging 2.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG while shooting 60% from the field.

Throughout his time as a basketball player, Koloko has shown the ability to develop when with the right coaching staff. In one season with head coach Tommy Lloyd, he averaged career highs in points (12.6), rebounds (7.3), blocks (2.8) and assists (1.4) while shooting 63% from the field.

Although the road to getting a permanent spot on an NBA roster will be hard work, Koloko has proven that he is willing to put in the work and develop into a solid role player off the bench that can help any playoff team.