A life-threatening medical issue looked like it was going to cause Christian Koloko’s NBA career to end far too soon. But now the former Arizona Wildcats star looks poised to return to action and has several suitors.

NBA insider Shama Charania is reporting that Koloko is “finalizing a return to the NBA” with the Los Angeles Lakers the top destination for the 7-foot-1 center. Other teams interested, per Charania, are the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and the Toronto Raptors, for whom Koloko played 58 in 2022-23 after they drafted him in the second round.

Koloko, 24, averaged 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks as a rookie, starting 19 games and scoring a career-high 11 against the Chicago Bulls in November 2022. But following that season Koloko was diagnosed with a blood clot, which put his ability to play again in question.

The Raptors eventually waived him and he was referred to the NBA’s fitness to play panel, and they did not medically clear him to play. That apparently has changed, something Koloko intimated in February when he was on hand at McKale Center for his induction into the UA Ring of Honor.

Koloko spent three years at Arizona, appearing in 91 games with 56 starts, and as a junior he was Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player. The Raptors then took him 33^rd overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.