Khaman Maluach, the South Sudanese Wembanyama

Khaman Maluach is only 16 and yet he is already getting people talking. First for his extraordinary size: he stands 2.18 m tall. Then because he already represents the future of South Sudanese basketball. The proof is that he is on the extended list for the 2023 Basketball World Cup. He is already being compared to Victor Wembanyama, the new phenomenon of French basketball and the number 1 pick in the latest NBA draft. Both players impress with their height (the Frenchman stands 2 metres 26 centimetres tall at 19), but also with their ability to find speed with or without the ball, to dribble...

With South Sudan, he played in the warm-up game against Australia, and it is fair to say he delivered. In 7 minutes on court, Khaman Maluach scored 7 points. Above all, it was his agility and mobility, combined with a great shooting touch, that stood out.

https://twitter.com/wilkomcv/status/1691801107704549792

A product of the NBA Academy Africa

Khaman Maluach was born in South Sudan, but it was in Uganda, where he grew up, that he started playing basketball. Basketball fans discovered him at the 2022 Basketball Africa League (BAL), with the South Sudanese club Cobra Sport, where he landed through the BAL Elevate programme.

The following season, Khaman Maluach was picked up by AS Douanes, the Senegalese champions, for the 2023 BAL. He even reached the final with the Senegalese side. He, who turns 17 in September, then took part in Basketball Without Borders 2023 in Johannesburg, where he finished as camp MVP. All of this suggests the tall South Sudanese is destined for a career at the highest level. The question now is when he will enter the NBA Draft…