The 2023-24 NBA season was a continuous challenge for Los Angeles Lakers reserve Christian Wood. Heralded by many as a bargain acquisition during the 2023 period of free agency, Wood struggled to remain healthy throughout his first season with the team.
With the 2024-25 NBA season rapidly approaching, Wood is looking to put the injury concerns behind him and turn things around with the Lakers.
Wood has spent the entirety of his NBA career producing All-Star level numbers on a per-36 basis. He's twice finished in the top 10 in voting for Sixth Man of the Year and ended the 2020-21 season at fourth in voting for Most Improved Player.
In a post by the official Lakers account, it was revealed that Wood has undergone microscopic knee surgery in an attempt to get back to that level of play.
Lakers forward/center Christian Wood underwent a successful arthroscopic surgical procedure on his left knee today. The procedure was performed by Dr. Kristofer J. Jones at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Wood will be reevaluated by team doctors in approximately eight weeks.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 9, 2024
Wood took to X to openly discuss the surgery:
Damn.. I was just feeling like my old self again and was in peak shape … Minor setback for a Major comeback, and to my fans, don’t stop believing in me ..🙏🏽
— 35 (@Chriswood_5) September 9, 2024
It's a rather shocking revelation this close to the start of the 2024-25 season, but it should pay dividends in the long run.
Christian Wood undergoes surgery, will be reevaluated in eight weeks
Wood, who will turn 29 later this month, produced his worst season since 2016-17 in 2023-24. He averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.7 blocks, and 0.7 three-point field goals made on .466/.307/.702 shooting, and missed 32 games due to injuries.
It was an outlier of a season from a player who had not only produced big numbers, but had done so in an efficient manner over a long period of time.
Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, Wood averaged 16.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.6 offensive boards, 1.7 assists, 1.0 block, and 1.5 three-point field goals made per game. He did so while posting a slash line of .520/.382/.692—and his free throw shooting spiked in efficiency in 2022-23, when he knocked down 77.2 percent of his 281 attempts.
Even more impressive is the fact that he averaged 22.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.1 offensive boards, 2.2 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 2.0 three-point field goals made per 36 minutes during that same window.
By undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, Wood appears to be positioning himself for a return to form in 2024-25. It's brutal timing, and surgery is never ideal, but his knee troubled him throughout the 2023-24 campaign.
Perhaps this is the final step in the full recovery process, even if it could keep him out of action through the beginning of November.
As for the Lakers, the pressure has increased for the likes of Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, and Jarred Vanderbilt. It's unclear what Wood's role was going to be in 2024-25, but depth at forward and center has been an issue in the past, and he won't be available for the first few weeks of the regular season.
The door has opened for others to step up and for Wood to finally get back to 100 percent ahead of the final season on his current contract.