Lakers add big man to NBA Summer League roster

The Los Angeles Lakers will take the court for their opening game in Las Vegas for NBA Summer League on Thursday in a hyped-up matchup against No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, and the Dallas Mavericks. The team finished 2-1 at the California Classic this past week, and as the Lakers summer league entry prepares for Vegas now, they’ve added a familiar face to the roster in Christian Koloko.

Christian Koloko will join the Lakers summer league roster this week, as per NBA reporter Jovan Buha. Koloko was tendered a two-way qualifying offer by the team essentially making him a restricted free agent. He spent last season with the Lakers on a two-way contract after being cleared to resume his career following a blood clot issue.

Koloko was originally selected by the Toronto Raptors with the No. 33 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He played only one season for the Raptors before his NBA career was temporarily put on hold due to the discovery of a health issue involving blood clots. The Raptors ended up cutting Koloko after needing to free up roster space.

The Lakers signed Koloko to a two-way contract last offseason, and he was ultimately cleared by the NBA to resume his career. While he showed flashes during brief moments with the Lakers last season, he spent plenty of time developing in the G League with South Bay.

He played in 12 games with South Bay and averaged 14.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 3.2 blocked shots with splits of 54.5 percent shooting from the field and 73.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

During the regular season, Koloko played in 37 games with the Lakers, and he was only limited to 50 as per his two-way contract. He averaged 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 60.6 percent from the field. It appears as if the Lakers would like Koloko to remain with the team.