The San Antonio Spurs continue to be an enigma as far being an actual lottery team or not. However, they should have the opportunity to draft 7-foot-1, 230-pound junior Christian Koloko early in the second round. The rim protecting big man has improved in his three years at Arizona and should continue on that trajectory in the NBA.
Koloko is an elite rim protector and excellent lob target on offense. With his plus wingspan and overall athleticism, Koloko has gotten a ton of hype as a potential first round pick. However, his rawness on offense is likely what will limit himin the draft and down the road. Here are his stats through 19 games so far this season.
- 13.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.2 BPG
- 63.0 FG%, 75.7 FT%
- 30.0 PER, 127.5 ORtg, 78.9 DRtg
The young Wildcat could draw comparisons to Rudy Gobert in that he has super long arms, is over seven feet tall and affects pretty much every shot he is near. Not only does he just affect shots though. He blocks them at a clip of more than three a game. He’s good about not fouling, which helps him stay on the floor for more than half the game.
His rebounding numbers may not be terribly impressive and that can be attributed to who he plays with throughout the course of the game. Koloko is almost always playing with three other teammates who are all 6-foot-6 or taller who rebound well with him. So he’s not always needed to do all the rebounding for this team.
The 21-year old can be an effective finisher around the rim and even has a little post-up game that could serve him well. He’s superb in the pick-and-roll with the ability to catch the ball just about anywhere and finish. He has continued his improvement at the free throw line, which bodes well for him potentially extending his range outside of the paint. If he does that, he could become a major steal in the early part of the second round.
