PHOENIX — After not playing for 1½ years, Lakers two-way big man Christian Koloko has been medically cleared for basketball activities by the NBA’s Fitness-to-Play Panel.
Koloko’s clearance, which was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday morning, will allow Koloko to practice and play for the first time since being referred to the league’s Panel because of blood clot issues.
Koloko’s agent told ESPN that he’ll return to basketball activities this week.
The Lakers signed Koloko, a Sierra Canyon High alum, to a two-way contract in mid-September with the hopes that he could bolster a big-man rotation that already took a hit to its depth before the season started.
Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes are the lone healthy big men, with Christian Wood still sidelined after having left knee surgery in early September.
Wood is expected to miss at least the next couple of weeks before being able to return to the floor.
The 7-foot Koloko, who has a 7-foot-5 wingspan, has untapped potential, especially as a rim protector who could play alongside Davis or another big man.
The 24-year-old Koloko started his NBA career with the Toronto Raptors, after being the No. 33 pick in the 2022 draft, averaging 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and a blocked shot in 13.8 minutes per game (58 games, 19 starts) in 2022-23.
After Koloko didn’t play in the 2023 summer league or for Toronto to start the 2023-24 season, the Raptors waived him Jan. 17 to complete the blockbuster trade that sent former franchise cornerstone Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers as part of a three-team deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
It was later revealed that Koloko was referred to the league’s Fitness-to-Play Panel, making him ineligible to play or practice in the NBA until he had been cleared.
A panel of physicians, referred to as the Fitness-to-Play Panel in the league’s collective bargaining agreement, determines whether players with potentially life-threatening injuries, illnesses or other medical conditions are medically able and fit to practice and play basketball in the NBA. According to the CBA, each Fitness-to-Play Panel consists of: “one physician appointed by the NBA, one physician appointed by the Players Association and one physician appointed by agreement of the first two physicians.”
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Koloko, a native of Douala, Cameroon, moved to the U.S. in 2017, playing at Birmingham High in Van Nuys before transferring to Sierra Canyon.
He played collegiately at Arizona for three seasons (2019-22), averaging 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots during his junior season, en route to winning the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award, before becoming a second-round pick in 2022.