The Toronto Raptors selected Christian Koloko with the 33rd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft Thursday night.
The Raptors only had one pick tonight; they traded their first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Thaddeus Young on last season’s change deadline. There were several strong candidates left at 33, but Koloko seems like a good fit for the Raptors.
For one, it’s big, like a big one. It’s 7’1 “! The Raptors bowed out last year, but that’s another story: it’s 7’5.25”!
By all accounts, Koloko is an athletic shot blocker, rim runner, and killer; you can shoot a little, but not from a distance (yet); he is a player with a lot of energy.
This all sounds appealing! Well, okay, maybe not the “you can’t shoot from a distance” part, but hey, that’s why the NBA G League serves!
Koloko played three seasons in Arizona and averaged 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 25 minutes per game for the Wildcats last season. He also threw the ball well from the ground and the line (63.5% and 73.5%, respectively) but again, nothing from the depth.
It’s also from Doula, Cameroon, Pascal Siakam’s hometown! Also like Siakam, he took hoops later in life, so it’s still raw, a real unfinished product.
Size, speed, blocking of shots, energy. What more could you want? (Oh yeah. Shooting.) Well, we can’t have it all, can we?
Our draft expert JD Quirante will have a complete breakdown of Koloko’s game and will fit in with the Raptors tomorrow.