Khaman Maluach: From South Sudan Soccer to NBA Prospect
June 17, 2025 Catherine Williams - Chief EditorSports
Khaman Maluach‘s story is extraordinary: From the soccer fields of South Sudan to the cusp of the NBA. This article chronicles his rapid ascent, tracing his path from initially observing the game to becoming a captivating prospect. his journey began with a formative experience at a multi-day camp, igniting a passion that would drive him forward. unexpectedly spotted by a local coach, Maluach received a scholarship, laying the groundwork for his conversion.When a global pandemic halted basketball activities, Khaman’s dedication intensified, shaping makeshift rims from tires to focus on his target. Scouts then directed him to the NBA Academy in senegal, where he honed skills and built resilience. Then, Maluach, the youngest player there, started playing. With a remarkable skillset and a unique background, Maluach is now projected as a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Read News Directory 3 for more inspiring content. Discover what’s next for this rising star.
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Khaman Maluach: From <a href="https://comms.southsudanngoforum.org/c/tenders/8" title="Tenders & Other Advertisments - South Sudan NGO Forum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">South Sudan</a> to NBA Draft Prospect
Khaman Maluach: From South Sudan to NBA Draft Prospect
Updated June 17, 2025
CHICAGO — He speaks four languages and hails from South Sudan. His 7-foot-2 frame and 7-6.75 wingspan are among the largest and longest in the 2025 NBA Draft class. And if not for a handful of chance encounters over the last six years, which took him from the soccer fields of Uganda, where he fled to after leaving war-torn South Sudan, to the precipice of being a lottery pick in Brooklyn later this month, this made-in-a-lab Monstar might never have tried the sport many now believe he can become a star playing.
Meet khaman Maluach: the most interesting prospect in June 25’s NBA Draft.
Maluach was a long and lanky adolescent – a smaller and more slender version of the man who stands to join an exclusive list of former South sudanese men drafted into the NBA. A 6-foot-7 13-year-old,he was into soccer and studying. Basketball wasn’t in the picture. But at his tender age and with his towering size, he stood out. It didn’t go unnoticed locally. It was impossible not tonotice.
Who was this gangly giant? And why was he galloping around kicking a black and white round ball instead of dunking an orange one?
Because of his height, Maluach was soon invited to a basketball camp hosted by NBA veteran Luol Deng, who like Maluach is from South Sudan. And there began the legend of how he came to know hoops. at 13 years old, late in 2019, he was around the sport for a multi-day camp in an environment he recalls was full of happiness — first as a spectator on and then as a participant itching to be in the mix. Described as a pure soul and jovial spirit by those around him, he felt comfortable.At home.
He never looked back.
“I saw a lot of tall people who were happy,” Maluach told CBS Sports, ”and I was like ‘This is where I belong.'”
A chance meeting that changed Maluach’s life
The camp was just an introduction to basketball for Maluach. A fateful invite to see firsthand a new sport he felt he could play. It didn’t change his life’s trajectory. Not right away.
His life would change drastically and quickly soon thereafter, though. Walking home one day, a local basketball coach at Bethel Covenant College, Akech Wuoi Garang, spotted the sprouting Maluach on the side of the road and was taken aback by his towering figure. Akech, in a story recounted by SLAMslammed the brakes of his motorcycle and shoved it into reverse to inquire about Maluach.they had a conversation that led to a scholarship offer and a chance to attend Bethel College as a student and basketball player.
It was one of several interactions over the span of the last six years that shaped his life’s trajectory.
The next came months later when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down virtually everything in Uganda — basketball activities, sadly, among them.
From shutdown to spotlight
A global pandemic was a speed bump for Maluach’s official basketball training. But his interest in the sport only grew.
Without a basketball goal during lockdown, he kept pushing himself but had to get creative: he’d stack large tires one on top of another until the makeshift rubber rim was 10 feet tall, or somewhere close. Then he’d practice his shooting.
That continued for a year before NBA scouts recommended he attend NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal, which opened in November 2018. It was there, at 14-years-old, he was finally taught, well, everything — from how to hoop to how to handle himself.
“They taught me how to play organized basketball, because I went to the academy and it was my first time really playing,” he said. “They really shaped me on the basketball court and helped me off the court too. I left home at a very young age so I had to learn a lot of stuff. I had to learn how to be a man off the basketball court.The academy helped me through all that.”
Maluach was the youngest player ever at an NBA Academy school upon enrollment and roughly 4,700 miles away from his home in Uganda — nearly double the distance,for scale,from Los Angeles to Durham,North Carolina. He had to grow up fast living in a dorm away from family and friends.
Khaman Maluach starred in the Basketball Africa League from 2022-24. Getty Images
He not only survived but thrived by retreating into the solace basketball offered,soaking up every ounce of instruction and showcasing his skill set in international competitions.
He earned a spot on the 2023 FIBA world Cup team with South sudan at age 16, the third-youngest in the tournament’s history and youngest on the team. He also helped the team qualify for the Olympics, which later gave Team USA a scare the following year with Maluach adding seven points, three rebounds and a block against the likes of LeBron James and Joel Embiid. South Sudan lost 101-100, but Maluach’s introduction to the global basketball world was a memorable one. scouts, recruiting analysts and Duke took notice. blank”>maluach signed with the Blue Devils as the No. 4 prospect in the class of 2025a few spots behind future teammate Cooper Flagg.
Transition and obstacles
Making the transition from Africa to the United States was not, and still is not, without its struggles for Maluach. His ability to speak English, Spanish, Japanese and Norwegian Bokmål has helped ease the move, he said.But he essentially had to learn an entirely new world when he signed and later enrolled at
What’s next
Khaman Maluach is projected to be a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.His unique skillset and inspiring background make him a player to watch for years to come.
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