THE NEW GUY

Nicholas D'Agostino

With the 33rd pick in the 2022 NBA Draft the Toronto Raptors selected big man Christian Koloko with their only pick of the night in the second round. Koloko is a 7-foot-1 centre that played his college ball in Arizona and coincidentally is from Doula, Cameroon, just like fellow Raptor Pascal Siakam.

Koloko was thrilled to be drafted by the Raptors as the next morning he tweeted “ I just woke up and I am a Raptors man. I can’t wait to get to work Toronto.” While Koloko is thrilled to be a Raptor, The team is even happier as they were able to draft him with their pick in the second round.

Raptors GM Bobby Webster said that they would have looked at Koloko at picks 20 and 25, indicating that they believe Koloko is a first round talent. This college season Koloko averaged 12.6 points per game, 2.8 blocks per game all while shooting 63% from the field. Koloko is a long, athletic big man that possesses elite defensive upside.

There is no secret that the Raptors are trying to build a team around certain players with a certain skill set. With Koloko they get exactly that. He is a big long defense-first player who protects the rim really well and is a defensive presence in the paint. Koloko is a prospect with some offensive upside as well, and he has great hands in the paint, a good touch and has shown flashes of creating for his teammates with his passing ability.

Koloko is so big that the Raptors believe they can develop him into a rotation player that can gel with the current players on their roster. As of right now, Koloko is raw but he has all the tools to make him an effective big man in the NBA.

Personally, I like this pick for the Raptors. This current team needed a traditional centre to improve their rim protection. As we stand that is probably Koloko’s best attribute. With Koloko averaging 2.8 blocks per game this college season it proves that he can be a force on the defensive end especially around the rim.

I also like this pick because of the potential role Koloko can play for this Raptors team for years to come. In the playoffs against Philly, the Raptors struggled with Embiid in the post and with the lack of a true big man, the Raptors felt unmatched at times.

If all goes to plan, Koloko can be an effective centre in this league for the Raptors which will help them in the future should they come up against someone like Joel Embiid. Koloko should be able to carve out a defensive-first role with the Raptors starting this year. As he develops over time I wouldn't be surprised if Koloko becomes an accountable starting centre in the league for years to come.

Player Comparisons

I see Koloko as a Clint Capela type of player. Capela is a strong centre in the paint that doesn’t get cheated on either end. He can grab rebounds, play great defense and protect the rim at an extremely high level (Capela has averaged 1.5 blocks per game in his career)

Capela is also effective on the offensive end when he crashes the rim looking for offensive rebounds and when his teammates find him in the post for some easy alley oops and lobs. Capela can also effectively score in the post when he uses a post move from his arsenal.

Robert Williams III

I also see Koloko as a player similar to Robert Williams III. Robert Wiliams provides an immense amount of energy every time he touches the floor. His best attribute is rim protection as well as he averaged over 2 blocks per game this season for the Celtics.

He was also a vital piece to a Celtics team that reached the finals this season. Either way Koloko is a great pick for the Raptors in this draft and with the way they develop players Koloko might be a name Toronto fans will soon come to learn for many years to come.