big man Christian KolokoHe has a two-way contract with the Lakers and received medical clearance from the NBA’s Fitness to Play panel, which will allow him to continue his career. accordingly ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Koloko misses entire 2023-24 season due to career-threatening condition blood clot problem. His manager, Calvin Andrews, he said during the summer He said the old Raptor had corrective surgery to fix the problem.

After being cleared to resume practices and scrimmages, Koloko caught up with the Lakers. sign A two-way contract was signed with the club. However, he still needed official permission from the league. Eligibility to Play panel (consisting of three doctors) has the final say in career-threatening health situations.

Now that he’s received approval from the league, Charania says Koloko will begin training with the Lakers and begin the process of ramping up towards game action.

The 7’1″ center will likely spend some time in the G League before making his debut at the NBA level with the Lakers, but we’ll have to wait to see what LA’s plan is. The South Bay Lakers’ season doesn’t start until November 9th, and the NBA Lakers are somewhat lacking in depth up front. Christian Wood to get better knee surgery.

Koloko, who was selected with the 33rd pick in the 2022 draft, appeared in 58 games (19 starts) as a rookie for the Raptors and averaged 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 13.8 minutes per game. He was the Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player in his final college season at Arizona in 2021-22.