Where is Khaman Maluach from? How Duke star discovered basketball

Khaman Maluach made headlines after he committed his collegiate basketball future to Duke from the NBA Africa Academy in Senegal on March 6. The 17-year-old has since established himself as a key player for the Blue Devils who are currently ranked fourth in the AP rankings.

As the 7-foot-2 center continues to shine at Duke, here are some interesting facts about his personal background and how he got into basketball.

What is Khaman Maluach's background?

Khaman Maluach was born on September 14, 2006, in Rumbek, South Sudan. However, he grew up in Kawempe, Uganda, as a refugee with his siblings and mother, while his father, Madit Maluach, stayed behind in South Sudan to work.

How did Khaman Maluach become a basketball player?

Maluach initially did not want to play basketball, preferring to play soccer, where he was always the tallest player on the pitch. One day, he was spotted walking along the road by Akech Wuoi Gurang, a local high school coach at Bethel Covenant College.

Gurang offered to sponsor Muluach's education at the college so the youngster could play basketball.

“I trusted Akech because he was a South Sudanese coach,” Maluach said per Slam in 2023. “He gave me a scholarship to go study at school. By then, school tuition was hard, so I took the scholarship and it motivated me. That’s how I got into the game.”

In January 2020, Maluach joined Bethel Covenant College, knowing it was an opportunity of a lifetime. With Gurang's help, Muluach practiced basketball and watched video clips of NBA stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid to learn the sport and hone his skills.

In 2021, Muluach's hard work paid off as he became the youngest player ever enrolled at the NBA Academy in Senegal, where he made an immediate impression. He was 14 years old at the time.

“He’s one of the most impressive young people you’ll ever meet,” Chris Ebersole, head of international basketball development at the NBA, said (via Slam). “It’s amazing how he carries himself with humility, with respect. That’s the thing that we love the most about him.”

At the NBA Academy, Khaman Maluach improved at a fast rate and was quickly recruited to play for the South Sudanese professional team Cobra Sport in the 2022 BAL season. In August 2023, he was named MVP of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders camp and later that month, he joined the South Sudan senior national team and became the third-youngest player in FIBA World Cup history.

On March 6, it was announced that Muluach would join the Duke Blue Devils in the college men's basketball UCLA, Kentucky, and Kansas. He is ranked as the third-best prospect in the 2025 NBA draft by ESPN and now plays alongside projected No. 1 prospect, Cooper Flagg.