NBA Draft: Khaman Maluach Analysis & Projection
The big man from South Sudan's characteristics and outlook following comprehensive film, source interview, and intel review.
The mystery surrounding Khaman Maluach as an NBA prospect has him perceived as one of the most intriguing and one of the riskiest prospects in the lottery. Maluach’s former teammate Ulrich Chomche masterfully used the mystery surrounding him to his favor, getting drafted directly out of NBA Academy Africa a season ago. Stakes and expectations are higher for Maluach, also known as “Man-Man,” who has a full NCAA season under his belt, but will the intrigue outweigh the questions on draft night?
Possessing one of the more impressive resumes of any 18 year old, Maluach has been touted as a top-3 to lottery level talent in this draft for the past two years. His measurables speak for themselves and he plays a coveted position well. Maluach also has the coordination and fluidity that raise his ceiling even higher.
Individual Accolades
Olympian
All-ACC Honorable Mention
ACC All-Tournament Team
ACC All-Rookie Team
BWB Global Defensive MVP (2024)
BWB Africa MVP (2023)
In his short time at Duke, Maluach honed in on the fundamentals, mastering foundational rim-runner/-protector skills. While he had more freedom to make plays on the defensive side, his offense was limited to rolling to the rim, lobs, and put backs. Maluach only occasionally took shots from behind the arc.
This was a sharp contrast from the role he played for years since picking up basketball in 2020, where he operated offensively as a pick-and-pop target with a few playmaking responsibilities as the team’s hub, and relied heavily on his jump shot from mid- and long-range.
Having shown great flashes on both ends of the center position’s role spectrum gives evaluators many angles to digest him from.
Physical
According to the NBA Draft Combine’s official measurements, Maluach stands 7’0.75” without shoes and boasts a 7’6.75” wingspan, with a 9’6” standing reach. Maluach gained weight in his season at Duke, weighing in at the combine at 252.8 lbs. One of the youngest players in this draft, he doesn’t turn 19 until September, and his strength development is on track with his age. Man-Man could use more lower body strength to help him hold position and elevate quicker off he floor. Despite having high hips, he is very coordinated within his lengthy body, and he possesses fluid movement that boosts his upside.
In shoes, Maluach is 7’2”, making him one of the biggest players in the draft. Given that fact, it’s not too surprising that he didn’t test particularly well compared to his contemporaries at the combine. Of the ten centers who participated, Maluach finished ninth in lane agility, tenth in shuttle run, eighth in three quarter sprint, ninth in standing vertical, and tied with two others for ninth in max vertical leap.
One trait of his that is undeniable is his embrasure of development processes and the ability to improve upon physical skills quickly.
collaborated with Maluach’s youth coach, Wal Deng, to obtain training footage. Maluach’s work ethic and leadership were apparent early.Mental
Mature beyond his years, or too young to know better, Khaman Maluach has an unshakeable confidence with which he has always approached the game of basketball. He is the type of player with a motivational quote for every situation and speaks of his journey as if greatness is meant to happen. Not in a cocky way, but with calm pragmatism and conviction.
Maluach is comfortable with holding the weight of a continent’s expectations on his shoulders, constantly citing his desire to “put Africa on the map.” He has a deep sense of duty he feels to the continent, often calling out African role models, and comparing himself to great African players.
Maluach doesn’t see new skills as daunting, and picks them up quickly, whether they are on the basketball court (i.e. learning new roles) or off it (i.e. learning parts of five different languages). Take it from NBA Africa head of basketball operations, Franck Traore:
“…[Maluach] has that—obviously genetically—but he has other stuff. In South Sudan, being tall is not enough. What he has is the character piece and the work ethic piece and the talent. I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of tall guys that are not talented. He is that and he’s willing to really harness that [ability] and continue to work.”
DEFENSE
Rim Protection
Maluach has always begun as a shotblocker, with other skills filling in around this one. Acting as a defensive anchor at and before Duke, he sent 1.3 shots back per game in 2024-25. His block rate of 6.8% may be low, but his presence improves team defensive performance. Opposing teams shot 53.6% at the rim with Maluach on the floor and 62.6% with him off the floor.
This contrasts with some of his bigger defensive lapses seen on film. Many issues can be fixed with strength training and more playing experience, but issues like getting beat to the spot or losing track of cutters may indicate a lower feel or effort level than what is expected of an NBA defensive anchor.
Man-Man’s drafting team should consider using him more as a roaming help side shot blocker than a primary defensive anchor, as he thrived keeping his head on a swivel and covering for his teammates.
The threat of a blocked shot can sometimes be more disruptive than an actual blocked shot. Maluach’s mere presence made offenses second-guess attempting shots in the paint at times, resulting in a HELLNAH (a new stat Victor Wembanyama is all too familiar with).
These can disrupt an offense’s rhythm, ultimately forcing them into a tougher shot than anticipated or a turnover as a result.
PnR Scheme Versatility
Maluach is primarily a drop coverage big at this point, with the ability to hold his own on switches only in short spurts. His coordination and effort in screening actions could see him evolve into a more versatile defender who can switch for longer periods or hedge when necessary.
Effort/Intangibles
With his length and fluidity, Maluach truly doesn’t have to try hard to impact defense. But he generally puts forth consistent effort on that side of the ball, despite moments of lapsed focus.
Maluach has been a vocal leader since his academy days, recognizing early how it translates to on-court performance. This quote from former teammate Ulrich Chomche is a good illustration of that.
“[Khaman]’s our leader on the team. He’s the one who teaches me how to talk on the court. The day before, I was very quiet when I was playing defense. He told me, ‘You know if you start talking more on defense, you will impact more on the defensive side.’”
OFFENSE
Finishing
Maluach is used to utilizing his long legs to run the floor in transition, outrunning opposing bigs and getting easy fast break baskets. He is often one of the first two players down the court.
In the half court at Duke, his coaching staff kept things ultra simple, as he rolled to the rim after setting good screens. Once there, he was in the 98th percentile of rim finishers in the country, with a 77.6% shooting percentage at the rim. More granularly, Maluach spent 22% of his possessions as a roller, and finished 89.4% of his shots in those actions, per Synergy Sports tracking data.
Also within his rim field goal attempts were baskets generated via cut. Maluach spent 29% of his time cutting, connecting on 76.7% of these shots. While his roll frequency went up drastically at Duke compared to years prior, he is used to getting baskets off of cuts and lobs from his time at NBA Academy Africa.
Shooting
Shooting is the swing skill for Khaman Maluach. Interestingly, he was known as a floor spacer in every context outside of Duke. At the academy, he popped more frequently than he rolled, and most of his rolls were short to set himself up for midrange post fadeaways.
Jon Scheyer and his staff simplified Maluach’s role so he could master foundational aspects of being a center while offering a gentler learning curve. That and an injury-wrapped hand meant none of the offense was explicitly designed to generate jump shots for big man. Coincidentally, of the few three point shots he did attempt at Duke, the only ones that went in came when Man-Man was in rhythm with his feet set, often after popping a screen or getting a good pass after spacing.
Having no designed three pointers in the playbook, it seemed like Maluach tried to find comfort by creating some for himself. This led to him looking for his shot even when it wasn’t there. Rushed shots, or shots that came as a last resort, or felt unplanned, accounted for most of Maluach’s misses. He went 4/16 from three at Duke.
We mentioned Maluach’s popping prowess earlier, and this is arguably the type of situation where he looks most comfortable. He’s shown deep range and good mechanics from the academy through pre-draft workouts, smoothly transferring energy from his feet through his follow through. When Maluach’s feet are set and he isn’t rushed, his shot stands a good chance.
Passing
In his pre-draft years, Maluach had the freedom and ability to make playmaking reads out of the post and as an offensive initiator. He showed some flashes of making the right pass against lesser competition.
While at Duke, playmaking reps were virtually non-existent, at least as a designed part of the offense. Man-Man showed some passing flashes off rebounds and when plays broke down, but was most often a connector who kept the ball and offense moving. Many of his assists came as DHOs.
Screening
This was clearly a focus for Maluach and the coaching staff as they built up his big man essentials. He was a solid screener coming in, tending to ghost screen more often than not, but he learned to set very solid screens — even the brand of illegal screen commonly set in the NBA that often goes uncalled. Maluach now uses effective screening angles to get teammates open and clear lanes for himself.
Offensive Rebounding
Man-Man was simply a monster on the offensive glass this past year. He chased rebounds on that end incessantly, and what showed up on film trickled over to the stat sheet. His 16.5% offensive rebounding rate led the ACC per Sports Reference. Maluach’s second highest source of scoring was offensive rebounds, where he spent 22% of his possessions. Though not as insanely efficient as some of his other rim attempts, he converted an effective 63.6% of his put backs.
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Generally, Maluach has things to improve on in all areas. Having only played five years of basketball, he should continue to improve on his understanding of all concepts as reps and feel for the game increase. The following should likely be priorities in his development for him to reach his full potential.
Defensive Awareness
Maluach is still learning intricacies of high-level defense, while being asked to shoulder a hefty amount of responsibility in that respect. There are moments on the floor right now where you can see him processing, and sometimes he gets caught slipping in those moments. As a full-time defensive anchor, some of the mistakes he makes now will not fly in the NBA.
Shooting consistency
As one of the biggest questions surrounding Maluach, he needs to prove that he can and will shoot the ball. He’s shot it well in some contexts, but will need to be more consistent in his output (and sometimes his efficiency) to be relied upon as a legitimate floor spacer.
Rebounding
We raved about Maluach’s stellar offensive rebounding as a strength, but overall, Maluach’s rebounding left a lot to be desired. At his height and with the minutes he played, it is a bit dissuading to see him average fewer than seven rebounds per game. He has the motor to pursue rebounds, as he does so well on the offensive side, but right now his lack of lower body strength and sometimes effort keep his defensive rebounding numbers low.
OUTLOOK
Khaman Maluach is the poster child of doing research beyond just the draft-eligible year. He’s looked so different in the different contexts of NBA Academy Africa, South Sudan’s national team, the Basketball Africa League, and Duke, that it makes it a non-linear process to project which of his traits will show up at the NBA level.
Relying on some of these contexts will make you believe Maluach is the most modern big prospect not named Wemby, while relying solely on his Duke output could have you pigeonhole him into just one or two of his many potential skills. The reality is that Maluach likely projects somewhere in between all of these outcomes.
While Maluach has understated shooting upside, his finishing is too enticing to ignore. The foundation laid while at Duke will serve him well, as that will likely be his foundation in the league. That said, his drafting team would be foolish to not incorporate opportunities for him to space the floor or make limited plays for others as he has a base to potentially develop those skills further.
Maluach’s work ethic and mentality make lofty goals seem more achievable, and being drafted in the top ten typically buys a level of team investment that encourages creativity in player development. The big man has been consistent in expressing that he has a lot more of his game to show.
Overall, Maluach’s gigantic size and finishing efficiency give him a floor above many. His potential ceiling is extremely high as a versatile play finisher with ancillary skills. In the right context, Maluach could develop into a long term dependable starter on a winning team.
