Despite their early-season struggles and injury concerns, the Memphis Grizzlies are still in Play-In/playoff contention (No. 9 seed in the Western Conference).
Still, in an attempt to strengthen their roster in late December, the Grizzlies signed a 6-foot-11 former Los Angeles Lakers center.
“The Memphis Grizzlies are signing former Lakers and Raptors center Christian Koloko to a 10-day contract via hardship exception,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday.
After spending the first two years of his NBA career with the Toronto Raptors, Koloko signed a two-way deal with the Lakers on Sept. 16, 2024.
Considering the former second-round pick wasn’t on a standard NBA deal, it wasn’t surprising to witness him appear in less than 40 games with the Lakers last season and spend a good portion of the year in the G-League.
Koloko averaged 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 37 games with Los Angeles in 2024-25, shooting 60.6% from the field while playing 9.2 minutes.
The 25-year-old only competed in two contests with the Lakers this season before getting waived in late November (Los Angeles replaced him with G-League superstar Drew Timme).
For his career, Koloko is averaging 2.8 points and 0.5 rebounds while shooting 51.9% from the field in 97 outings.
While things haven’t been smooth for Koloko early on, he’ll get another opportunity to make a lasting impression on an NBA franchise.
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