In one of the biggest trades in NBA history, basketball legend Kevin Durant has joined the Houston Rockets, but tucked into the fine print of the seven-team mega-deal is the name of an 18-year-old center who spent his formative years in Uganda: Khaman Maluach.
Maluach, born in South Sudan but raised in a refugee camp in Kawempe, Kampala, was the 10th overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
He now heads to the Phoenix Suns — part of the return Phoenix received in exchange for Durant.
Maluach’s basketball journey began in unlikely circumstances. After fleeing conflict in South Sudan in 2013, he settled with his family in Uganda.
In Kawempe, resources were scarce. Basketball courts were nearly non-existent. But everything changed when a boda boda rider pulled over and urged the tall teenager to try basketball.
That moment sparked a journey that led him from makeshift courts and long walks to train in Kampala, to becoming a standout at a basketball camp hosted by NBA star Luol Deng.
His raw talent and height — now a towering 7 feet 2 inches — caught the attention of scouts. He joined the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal in 2021, sharpening his skills before earning a spot at Duke University in the US in 2024.
This summer, Maluach achieved what once felt like a fantasy. He was drafted by the Houston Rockets — becoming the highest-drafted NBA Academy Africa graduate — then almost immediately moved to the Phoenix Suns in the blockbuster trade.
After his selection, he said he planned to send his draft hat back to Uganda, to the two local coaches who introduced him to the sport.
Now part of the Suns roster, Maluach is set to begin his rookie season alongside some of the NBA’s brightest names.
