18-year-old 7 feet 2 inches tall South Sudanese basketball player Khaman Maluach has become the youngest basketball player ever to enroll in an NBA academy.
Maluach made history on Wednesday when he was selected by the Houston Rockets at the 2025 NBA Draft.
At the draft in Brooklyn, New York, Maluach said it was a day that he would never forget.
“I didn’t think I was going to cry, but sometimes I let the emotions out, and I was so happy and everything was just going through my head, my whole journey and my people on the continent, I represent the continent of Africa,” he said.
Maluach was born in South Sudan and raised in Uganda as a refugee. His basketball journey started at a very young age when someone told him to play basketball because of his height.
Standing at 7 feet 2 inches tall, Maluach played three years of professional basketball in Africa before heading to Duke University in the United States.
At Duke University, Maluach was the third Duke University player to be selected in the top 10 NBA Academy draft.
“It was so emotional getting to see my teammates, my fellow freshmen getting drafted. I was so happy for them because they deserve everything they have,” he said.
The 18-year-old center joins a short list of NBA Academy alumni to be taken in the first round.
