The Los Angeles Lakers have had to rely more heavily on two-way center Christian Koloko than anyone had anticipated when the 2024-25 season began. L.A. signed Koloko to a two-way deal hoping that he could be a development project for the South Bay Lakers after missing the entirety of last season due to blood clot issues.
But injuries to Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes at the same time as Koloko’s clearance to return to basketball from the NBA made him the Lakers’ only backup center behind Anthony Davis. He’s played in over 10 minutes in eight of his 14 games with the Lakers, and has barely had any time to develop in South Bay as was intended.