Duke Blue Devils center Khaman Maluach fully realized his dream of making it to the NBA after he was selected by the Houston Rockets in the 2025 draft. During his post-selection interview with basketball analyst Monica McNutt right after his name was called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Maluach got emotional, and spoke about his home country of South Sudan.
His response has since gone viral on social media, as many were inspired by Maluach’s story. The Rumbek, South Sudan native had a great one-and-done stint with coach Jon Scheyer’s program, eventually making it into the 2025 NCAA Final Four after a successful run in the ACC tournament.
Among the responses he had in his interview was a powerful tribute to South Sudan and the future of African basketball, as Maluach hopes to continue to give them hope and inspiration.
“Living in Africa, I had the whole continent on my back, giving hope to young kids, inspiring young kids, the next generation of African basketball.”
“Living in Africa, I had the whole continent on my back…”
ALL THE FEELS for Khaman Maluach 🥹 https://t.co/Okf6QTxwls pic.twitter.com/EmdTa2fAC5
— NBA (@NBA) June 26, 2025
In his lone year of college basketball, Maluach was Duke’s main man in the middle as he went on to average 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in around 21.3 minutes per contest. Him and the Blue Devils then finished with an overall record of 35-4 (19-1, ACC) and won the conference regular season championship and conference tournament title.
As mentioned, Duke went all the way to the national tournament semifinal with high hopes of winning a national title, but were defeated by the Houston Cougars by three points, 70-67.
Khaman Maluach Was Taken With The No. 10 Overall Pick Of The 2025 NBA Draft
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With the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, Khaman Maluach was selected by the Houston Rockets after he was projected to be picked with the seventh selection to the New Orleans Pelicans, per ESPN’s mock draft. However, as part of the Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams trade to the Phoenix Suns, Maluach was dealt to coach Jordan Ott’s team and will play out his rookie year in Phoenix.
Maluach will then presumably join a Suns team that recently traded away superstar Kevin Durant for Houston’s Jalen Green and Dillion Brooks. The 18-year-old will also form a formidable frontcourt line with Williams alongside stars like Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Last year, the Suns missed out on the Western Conference Play-In’s after finishing as the 11th seed with a 36-46 record.
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