South Sudan’s men’s basketball team is inspiring their country during the Paris Olympics. A young nation that gained independence in 2011, they’ve put themselves on the map with their play against Team USA. This might be seen as the zenith of their accomplishments thus far. However, with hopes of unifying the country, their movement is bigger than basketball.
That being said, with their play in between the lines, South Sudan is also aiming to advance basketball in Africa. To that end, hard-fought battles against Team USA have emboldened them. However, South Sudan’s admiration of Team USA has also played a part.
Indeed, in a recent interview, South Sudan center Khaman Maluach —a Duke commit and projected 2025 lottery pick —revealed that the experience has been a dream come true.
“It’s really different because I’ve been seeing all these people, watching them on TV and the NBA playoffs,” Maluach tells Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.
“I stayed up late nights in Africa to watch. I watched LeBron [James]. The NBA Bubble [in Orlando in 2020]. I watched Joel Embiid. Me being on the same floor with those guys was a different feeling. I was like, ‘Dreams really come true.’”
“I always looked up to those guys,” the 17-year-old says, singling out Joel Embiid and LeBron James.
South Sudan’s Khaman Maluach Reveals Team USA Inspirations
As the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, active leader in NBA MVP awards, and its grand ambassador, James is a player that many people look up to. His humble beginnings make his journey that much more memorable. For a player like Maluach, a former refugee, it makes James that much more relatable. It also makes the idea of making it to the NBA and excelling in it more believable.
Similar sentiments can be shared about Embiid. Though he’s far less popular than James, the NBA’s golden child, they arguably receive a similar amount of criticism. Nonetheless, he’s highly accomplished; an All-Star selection in all but his rookie season. In 2023, he finally won the NBA MVP Award; he was the runner-up in the two previous seasons. He also has the highest scoring average (27.9 points per game) in Sixers history.
A player whose story brings Maluach’s dreams to life, the Cameroon native is undoubtedly the best African player in the world. The son of a military colonel in a well-connected family, Embiid’s lifestyle was different than Maluach’s. Nonetheless, like Embiid, he didn’t develop an interest in the game until his teenage years.
Return On Investment
Fortunately for Maluach, the NBA has begun to really invest in skill development for African players. In fact, Maluach joined the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal, which had just opened in 2017. He starred for the Basketball Africa League, which was established by the NBA and FIBA in 2019. In 2023, he was named the MVP of the Basketball Without Borders camp, another program organized by the NBA and FIBA.
He also had the opportunity to meet and be mentored by Luol Deng, the best African player in the 2000s. Indeed, while Duke built a real relationship with Maluach, Deng’s indirect influence likely helped nudge him in that direction. Before he went on to be the No. 7 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Deng helped lead Duke to the 2004 NCAA Final Four.
History In The Making
Next June, Maluach has the chance to be highest drafted African prospect since Embiid (unless one counts Jahlil Okafor, the 2015 No. 3 pick). He’d be just the 12th African-born lottery pick in NBA history. Joining him on that list are Deng, Embiid, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Yinka Dare, Michael Olowokandi, DeSagana Diop, Mouhamed Sene, Hasheem Thabeet, Bismack Biyombo, and Jonathan Kuminga.
