The Los Angeles Lakers brought in former Mavericks center Christian Wood in 2023 with hopes of getting a big man who could space the court for LeBron James with a barrage of three pointers and other long jump shots.
The Palmdale, California native averaged 6.9 points in 50 games while starting just one game for the Lakers last season, leading up to a 2025 during which the UNLV Runnin' Rebels alumnus was waived to make way for the signing of former Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings big man Alex Len.
On Sunday, Wood revealed an update on his injury status with rumors of a potential return swirling.
Christian Wood, formerly of the Lakers, speaks to media at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California.
"Cleared to play basketball in a week ..," Wood wrote on X. "Finally it's been a year, I'm just happy to be back .."
Wood retweeted that he missed basketball this past December with a sad face emoji while sharing highlights of his 41-game, 21 points per game season with the Houston Rockets in 2020-2021.
He also shared a Kobe Bryant quote on March 6, appearing to motivate himself to stay focused on his day-to-day goals.
"May you always remember to enjoy the road, especially when it's a hard one," the Bryant quote read.
Wood hasn't played since February 14, 2024 and missed the final two months of the 2023-2024 season with a left knee injury.
The Lakers have been viewed as having a thin frontcourt since their trade of Anthony Davis for former Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic last month.
