*No matter the sport, the Olympics can be viewed as a look into the future with future athletes becoming legends in their respective sports With his 7ft 2in frame, Khaman Maluach could easily fit into that category as he generates talk and a healthy buzz with his sights set on entering the NBA.
“I want to be a Hall of Famer,” the 17-year-old athlete told BBC Sport Africa while explaining his pro ball aspirations.”That’s one of my long-term goals. Playing on the same court with [two-time NBA MVP] Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and [2023 MVP] Joel Embiid.”
Maluach’s future looks pretty certain. The young phenom, who is representing and competing for South Sudan at the 2024 Summer Olympics, is expected to be one of the hottest acquisitions going into next year’s NBA Draft, according to the BBC. Maluach, a projected third pick in the 2025 Draft, became eligible after committing to playing college basketball for Duke in the US.
Already, teams are said to be gunning to add him to their respective rosters. The circumstances mark the culmination of hard work on Maluach’s part in a long road to success and the solid foundation laid to make it a reality.
“Basketball means a big thing to me. I believe it’s a gift God gave me to impact other people’s lives and to change my family’s life,” he said.”The orange ball has taken me so far.”
Born in 2006, Maluach entered the world, with his family fleeing to neighboring Uganda to escape a long-running conflict that led to South Sudan gaining independence from Sudan in 2011. The athlete spent his childhood raised in Kawempe, a town located on the outskirts of the Ugandan capital Kampala. With his father mainly in South Sudan, Malauch spent most of his time with his mother, six siblings, and relatives from his mother’s side.
An encounter on the side of the road while walking back from school opened the door to basketball.
“A guy was on a bike and he suddenly stopped in front of me,” Maluach recalled. “He told me ‘’You should start playing basketball. I can get you shoes, I can get you the ball’ if I start playing right away.”
The packed public basketball court nearest to him was a daily one-hour walk from his home. With that came a lack of shoes and a scarcity of basketballs to play the game he loved. As a result, Maluach, who was already a size 14 by the time he turned 13, was forced to play his first game in a pair of Crocs. The young baller’s presence on the court made an immediate impression on local coaches Wal Deng and Aketch Garang. For Deng, it was a matter of seeing “so much potential.”
“I knew he was going to develop and become a better player,” he told BBC Sport Africa. “He learned so quickly. I told Aketch that this kid will be the next big thing.”
One factor that Maluach leaned on during that early time was YouTube. It was the popular outlet that was responsible for him learning several moves via videos he watched of Antetokounmpo and Embiid.
The duo, who have an Africa-based beginning, inspired Maluach to work even harder to better himself.
“Me and my brother would do this thing called a ‘night shift’,” Maluach explained. “When it reaches midnight, they [the telecommunications company], give you a lot of [mobile data] at a cheaper price. The whole time, I would watch those guys. I used to see Giannis’ jab step, and then with Joel I learned the shimmy. If they can make it there, I can make it there too.”
Just a year after picking up the game of basketball on the crowded court, Maluach was invited for a try-out by the NBA Academy Africa, with coach Deng among those who convinced him to take a scholarship with the Dakar, Senegal institution.
As with any success story, personal sacrifices are very present.
The BBC notes that Maluach’s family became a casualty with the basketballer not seeing them in Kawempe for the past two years. Still, the time away enabled him to concentrate on sharpening his game as well as his academic studies.
“On the court, competing against the best talent on the continent kept me getting better all the time.
“One of the main reasons I took basketball to the next level is to get an education. There was a time I spent two terms without going to school in Uganda.”
For more about Khaman Maluach and his journey to the NBA, click here.
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