# Christian Koloko

Christian Junior Koloko (born 20 June 2000) is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats. He was named first-team All-Pac-12 and was voted the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year after his junior season.

## Early life

Koloko is a native of Douala, Cameroon and attended Collège Libermann in his hometown. He grew up playing football and started playing basketball at age 12. In 2017, Koloko moved to the United States to play basketball for Birmingham High School in Lake Balboa, California as a junior, despite not speaking English at first. For his senior season, he transferred to Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California, where he was teammates with Cassius Stanley, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Scotty Pippen Jr. Koloko helped his team claim its second straight Open Division state title. A four-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for Arizona over offers from California, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Harvard and Princeton.

## College career

As a freshman at Arizona, Koloko averaged 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. In his sophomore season, he averaged 5.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. On 21 November 2021, Koloko posted a career-high 22 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in an 80–62 win over fourth-ranked Michigan at the Roman Main Event title game, earning tournament MVP honors. As a junior, he was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Pac-12 Most Improved Player, and first-team All-Pac-12.
On 18 April 2022, Koloko declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

## Professional career
### Toronto Raptors (2022–2024)

Koloko was selected with the 33rd overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors. On August 26 2022, Koloko signed a rookie-scale contract with the Raptors. As a rookie, he appeared in 58 games, averaging 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, one block and 13.8 minutes per contest.
In April 2023, he developed a blood clot health issue that kept him on the sideline for half of the season. On January 17 2024, Koloko was waived by the Raptors, as he wasn't cleared to play and the team was looking to make space on the roster after the Pascal Siakam trade. A day later, he was put into NBA's fitness-to-play panel due to the seriousness of the blood clot issue, meaning no teams can claim waiver to sign him until he is medically cleared to play.

### Los Angeles / South Bay Lakers (2024–present)

On September 16 2024, Koloko signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, although he still needed to be medically cleared by the NBA and sign a risk waiver to return to the league. On October 29 2024, he received clearance from the NBA's fitness-to-play panel to start practicing and return to play. On November 6 2024, he made his Lakers debut against the Memphis Grizzlies with Anthony Davis unavailable to play and Christian Wood still recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. On November 13 2024, Jaxson Hayes was diagnosed with a left ankle sprain, which increased Koloko's playing time.

## Career statistics
### NBA

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2022–23 | Toronto | 58 | 19 | 13.8 | .480 | .083 | .627 | 2.9 | .5 | .4 | 1.0 | 3.1 |
| Career | Career | 58 | 19 | 13.8 | .480 | .083 | .627 | 2.9 | .5 | .4 | 1.0 | 3.1 |

### College

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2019–20 | Arizona | 28 | 0 | 8.3 | .483 | .000 | .350 | 2.4 | .2 | .3 | .9 | 2.3 |
| 2020–21 | Arizona | 26 | 19 | 17.3 | .520 | .000 | .625 | 4.8 | .3 | .5 | 1.3 | 5.3 |
| 2021–22 | Arizona | 37 | 37 | 25.4 | .635 | .000 | .735 | 7.3 | 1.4 | .8 | 2.8 | 12.6 |
| Career | Career | 91 | 56 | 17.9 | .590 | .000 | .670 | 5.1 | .7 | .5 | 1.8 | 7.3 |