Khaman Madit Maluach, an 18-year-old South Sudanese professional basketball player, made history on 25 June 2025 when he was announced as the 10th pick at the 2025 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft 2025 in Barclays Center in Brooklyn in New York, the US.
Maluach is the highest-drafted African and former NBA Academy Africa player ever. Maluach was selected by the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal in 2021, where he honed his basketball skills and worked hard to add muscle to his skinny frame. He credits the academy for putting him on the path to success.
‘With the 10th pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets select Khaman Maluach,’ announced NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in the world’s most popular basketball league’s highly-anticipated draft night.
The first and second rounds of the 2025 NBA Draft took place on 25 and 26 June 2025 where 59 draft picks were made, including Maluach. See the full list here: www.nba.com/news/2025-nba-draft-order. The 2025 NBA Draft is an annual event, dating back to 1947, in which the teams in the league draft players to join their organisations who are eligible and who declare for the draft. The current NBA consists of 30 teams, and all thirty teams have at least one draft pick throughout the two draft rounds.
Maluach was drafted by Houston Rockets but immediately traded to Phoenix Suns of the NBA. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. Standing at 7 ft 2 in (218 cm), he plays the centre position. Maluach’s talent has already seen him represent South Sudan at the Fiba World Cup and the Olympic Games.
Born on 14 September 2006 in Rumbek, South Sudan, Maluach moved to neighbouring Uganda after a civil war erupted in South Sudan in 2013. He grew up in a refugee camp in Kawempe, which is on the outskirts of the capital, Kampala. Raised by his mother alongside six siblings in Kawempe, basketball only entered his life at the age of 13 after a motorcycle taxi rider, known as a boda boda, encouraged him to take up the sport because of his height.
Within a year, Maluach had earned a scholarship to the NBA Academy Africa in Dakar, Senegal, his first major leap toward the global stage. The teenager credits competing against the best talent on the continent with helping him ‘level up’. By 16, he was playing for South Sudan’s national team, helping them qualify for their first-ever Olympics via their performances at the 2023 Fiba World Cup. His performances in the Basketball Africa League and MVP honours at the 2023 Basketball Without Borders Africa camp cemented his status as a top prospect, and he committed to playing for Duke. Five years after first stepping onto a court, Maluach is set to take the next step on a remarkable journey which has been built on belief and persistence.
