Masai Ujiri Shares His Thoughts on Christian Koloko Following Release From Raptors

The Toronto Raptors had high hopes for Christian Koloko.

It was clear from the moment the Raptors selected the 7-foot Cameroonian center in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft that Toronto had targeted Koloko. Masai Ujiri had known Koloko for years dating back to Koloko’s time participating in Basketball Without Borders Africa.

“This is a player that we felt was really a big part of our future,” Ujiri said Thursday of Koloko who the organization waived Wednesday evening. “This was a big one for us and it didn't work out that way for now.”

After a relatively impressive rookie campaign, Koloko came down with a respiratory issue during the summer that could not be overcome. The team never disclosed the issue, but according to Shams Charania, Koloko was battling blood clots that are jeopardizing his career.

“His medical status is now in the hands of the NBA,” Ujiri said. “But that's a very tough one for us because that’s somebody we really believed in, someone that I know has incredible talent, and we saw as a future on this team, but we've exhausted all our options there.”

Koloko appeared to be doing more intense workouts over the past few weeks, but the Raptors kept his status uncertain.

Should Koloko overcome his medical ailments, Toronto can still re-sign the 23-year-old big man either to a G League deal or a training camp invite next season. He’ll certainly be a player the organization continues to monitor, but with his health status still worrisome, Toronto had little choice but to move on.