It’s been a month of firsts for Raptors rookie big man Christian Koloko.
Blessed with a tantalizing combination of speed and size, Koloko has quickly endeared himself to the fan base with eye-popping defensive rotations and a willingness to push the ball. On Monday, the Arizona product highlighted the whirlwind that’s been his first month in the NBA in an interview on The Raptors Show with Will Lou.
The 22-year-old’s journey from Douala, Cameroon to the biggest courts in North America is an uncommon one, but he finds himself surrounded by people who have carved similar, exceptional paths — chief among them, his countryman Pascal Siakam. Unsurprisingly, that’s been a huge help, but that relationship didn’t spare Koloko from the annual tradition that is rookie singing night.
“It was a nice Halloween party hosted by Pascal,” said Koloko. “They made me and [Ron Harper Jr.] sing twice. The first one I didn’t know really well, I think it was Justin Bieber. But the second one I picked myself: ‘I Want It That Way’ by the Backstreet Boys.”
An inspired choice by a player quickly familiarizing himself with the rigors of professional basketball.
The rookie pointed to travel as the biggest adjustment he’s found so far. “Experiencing that lifestyle. Travel, game, shootaround and practice. It’s a lot of quick turnarounds. You just have to be ready,” he said.
Being ready is one thing, but it’s tough to prepare for altercations like the one Koloko had with Caleb Martin in Miami earlier on in this young season.
“I just boxed out,” recalled Koloko. “When I was on my way down, I was trying to grab him because I was falling over. He took that a bad way.”
Though the animosity on the court was palpable, calmer heads prevailed.
“[Martin] reached out to me, he texted me. I just told him, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’re just playing basketball. Stuff like that happens.’”
Koloko’s celebrity status, both back home and in Toronto, remains on the ascent, but he’s piled up an impressive collection of “Welcome To The NBA” moments already. Playing 76ers superstar and Cameroonian basketball royalty Joel Embiid stood out.
“When I checked in, he looked at me and said, ‘You can’t guard me, man.’ And I was like, ‘C’mon man, don’t start that,’ and we both started laughing,” said Koloko. “Even after [Friday’s] game, when we were on the way back to the locker room, I saw him and was like, ‘Man, you heard I was playing today and you got scared, you didn’t want to play!’ But it was amazing. Joel is one of the best centres in the league, if not the best. You want to look up to those types of guys and try to get to that level.”
Koloko and the 3-3 Raptors host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night at 7:30 PM ET.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.