Christian Wood

Christian Wood
Christian Wood
Born	September 27, 1995 (age 31); Long Beach, California, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2015–present
Known for	NBA career with multiple teams including Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, New Orleans Pelicans, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers

Christian Marquise Wood (born September 27, 1995) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States who most recently competed for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played collegiate basketball representing the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Throughout his NBA career, Wood has also been rostered by the Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and the Dallas Mavericks.

Early life

Wood’s origins trace back to Long Beach, California, where he was born and raised.

High school career

For his freshman year, Wood attended Los Alamitos High School, then transferred to Knight High School in Palmdale, California for one year before completing his senior year at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada. While at Findlay Prep, he played a key role in the Pilots’ 54-game winning streak and their triumph at the 2012 ESPN National High School Invitational. Recruiting services ranked him as follows: Rivals placed him No. 36 overall in the 2013 class and No. 8 at his position; Scout rated him No. 10 at his position; ESPN ranked him No. 71 overall.

College career

Wood’s college tenure spanned from 2013 to 2015 at UNLV. During his freshman season, he participated in 30 games with two starts, averaging 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest. His sophomore campaign saw significant improvement as he appeared in 33 games, posting averages of 15.7 points, 10 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game, which earned him first team All-Mountain West recognition. Following this season, Wood declared for the 2015 NBA draft.

Philadelphia 76ers (2015–2016)

Although initially anticipated as a late first-round selection, Wood’s draft prospects declined, resulting in consistent second-round expectations. He ultimately went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft but joined the Houston Rockets for the 2015 NBA Summer League. On September 27, 2015, Wood signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. He made his NBA debut on October 28, contributing two rebounds in five minutes off the bench against the Boston Celtics. During his rookie year, he was assigned multiple times to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League. The 76ers waived him on January 4, 2016.

Delaware 87ers (2016)

Wood was acquired by the Delaware 87ers on January 6, 2016. On March 4, he secured a 10-day contract with Philadelphia but was waived three days later and subsequently returned to Delaware.

Return to Philadelphia (2016)

On March 27, Wood re-signed with the Sixers on another 10-day deal and later inked a contract for the remainder of that season on April 7. He participated in Philadelphia’s roster for the July 2016 NBA Summer League.

Charlotte Hornets (2016–2017)

Wood signed with the Charlotte Hornets on July 14, 2016. His debut came on November 7 when he grabbed two rebounds during limited playing time in a victory over the Indiana Pacers. Throughout that season, he was assigned multiple times to the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA Development League.

Return to Delaware (2017–2018)

Following his second NBA season and after his team option was declined making him a free agent, Wood joined both the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns for their respective Summer League squads in Orlando and Las Vegas during 2017. He contributed to Dallas capturing the Summer League Championship in Orlando.

On August 9, 2017, Wood signed with China’s Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association, but was released before appearing in any games. This enabled him to return later that year to play again for the Delaware 87ers.

Milwaukee Bucks (2018–2019)

Wood inked a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on August 14, 2018. However, the Bucks released him on March 18, 2019.

New Orleans Pelicans (2019)

Following his release, Wood was claimed off waivers by the New Orleans Pelicans on March 20, 2019. With Nikola Mirotić no longer on the roster and Anthony Davis requesting a trade—resulting in diminished playing opportunities—Wood saw a considerable increase in court time. He made his debut on March 24, scoring 7 points in just 8 minutes. Two days later, he posted an impressive stat line of 23 points, nine rebounds, six blocks, three steals, and one assist over more than 32 minutes in a defeat against the Hawks. The Pelicans waived Wood on July 15, 2019.

Detroit Pistons (2019–2020)

On July 17, 2019, Wood was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Pistons. During the suspension of the 2019–20 NBA season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Wood tested positive for COVID-19 on March 14, 2020. This followed a standout performance on March 7 where he tallied 30 points and 11 rebounds facing Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz.

Houston Rockets (2020–2022)

Wood agreed to a three-year, $41 million deal with the Pistons on November 24, 2020, but was immediately traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Trevor Ariza, draft rights to Isaiah Stewart, a future second-round pick, and cash considerations. He debuted for Houston on December 26, 2020, delivering 31 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in a narrow 128–126 overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. During a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, Wood sustained a right ankle injury that forced him to exit in the third quarter; his absence contributed to the Rockets enduring a 17-game losing streak.

On January 3, 2022, Wood received a one-game suspension without pay due to misconduct. Later that season, on March 21, he set a personal best by scoring 39 points with eight successful three-pointers in a commanding 115–97 triumph over the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately, Wood’s season ended prematurely on March 29 after being sidelined by a hamstring injury.

Dallas Mavericks (2022–2023)

Wood was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on June 24, 2022. The deal sent Boban Marjanović, Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss, Sterling Brown, and draft rights to Wendell Moore Jr. to Houston in exchange. Notably, Wood became the first player in Mavericks history to score at least 25 points in each of his initial two games with the franchise.

During his first Christmas Day appearance on December 25, 2022, Wood contributed an all-around performance with 30 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals, and two blocks leading Dallas to a 124–115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles Lakers (2023–2025)

Wood signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on September 6, 2023. Throughout the 2023–24 season, he averaged 6.9 points and grabbed 5.1 rebounds across 50 games but missed the final two months due to a left knee injury. After undergoing an initial arthroscopic surgery in March 2024 and opting into his $3 million player option for an additional season, Wood required another knee operation in September. On February 11, 2025, following the Lakers’ acquisition of Alex Len, Wood was waived.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2015 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia |17||0||8.5||.415||.364||.619||2.2||.2||.3||.4||1.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2016 | style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte |13||0||8.2||.522||.000||.733||2.2||.2||.2||.5||2.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2018 | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee |13||0||4.7||.480|| .600 ||.667||1.5||.2||.0||.0||2.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2018 | style="text-align:left;"|New Orleans |8||2||23.6||.533||.286||.756||7.9||.8||| .9 || 1.3 ||16.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2019 | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit |62||12||21.4||| .567 || .386 || .744 ||6.3 ||1.0 || .5 || .9 ||13.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2020 | style="text-align:left;"|Houston |41||41||| 32.3 || .514 || .374 || .631 ||9.6 ||1.7 || .8 ||1.2 || 21.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2021 | style="text-align:left;"|Houston |68|||67|||30.8||| .501||| .390||| .623|||10.1|||2.3||| .8|||1.0|||17.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2022 | style="text-align:left;"|Dallas |67||17||25.9||.515||.376|||.772|||7.3|||1.8||| .4|||1.1|||16.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2023 | style="text-align:left;"|L.A.Lakers |50||1||17.4|| .466 || .307 || .702 ||5.1 ||1.0 || .3 || .7 ||6.9 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career |339||140||23.2||| .514 || .372 || .694 ||7.0 ||1.4 || .5 || .9 ||13.6

External links