Advertisement - scroll for more content
“The Olympics now was the next level because now I’m playing Team USA, Serbia, Puerto Rico,” Maluach said. “We’re playing good teams that they have great players, Hall of Famers. Me being able to watch them, being able to step on the floor with them and see the gap I have and what I need to do to get where they are, showed me I’m on the right path. And me playing in the Olympics showed me that whatever I’m doing is right and I should keep on doing that.”
Maluach said Booker was very complimentary and nice to him when he visited with him a couple times during the 2024 Paris Olympics. The South Sudan center also played against Booker and Team USA in an exhibition game in London and during the Olympics last year. “We had a dinner and I went to say what’s up to him because he had his own table. He said to, ‘Go do it,’ and then I shook his hand. He told me, ‘I’ll see you in a year.’ But when he said, ‘See you in a year,’ I know he meant the NBA. Now, I’ll see you with the Phoenix Suns. I will be his teammate.”
NBA helping Khaman Maluach navigate legal situation amid State Department action against South Sudanese citizens
On April 5, hours before the Blue Devils lost in the national semifinals of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and nearly three months before the NBA draft, that future appeared in flux. All visas held by South Sudanese passport holders were being revoked, the State Department announced. Questions immediately arose about whether Khaman Maluach would be eligible to be selected. But thanks to a little-known division of the NBA few have heard of, he’s set to walk across the Barclays Center stage in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday night.
At each stop, the NBA’s international operations team worked to smooth his travel from one country to the next, just as it does with all of its international players. That work continued this spring after the State Department’s action against South Sudan, as Maluach stayed in the United States to train ahead of the draft. “We’ve been on this journey ... with Khaman since age 14, and we’re going to continue on this journey with him through the rest of his career, and we’ll continue on this journey with him post his career,” Troy Justice, the NBA’s senior vice president and head of international basketball, said. “These are lifelong commitments that we make to all of our international players.”
As Maluach’s lone season at Duke ended, the NBA began paperwork for him to receive a B-1/B-2 business tourist visa, which is pending, according to the league. Should Maluach be drafted Wednesday or Thursday as expected, the NBA will begin the process of acquiring either a P-1 visa — the typical professional athlete visa for the United States — or the Canadian version if he is drafted by the Toronto Raptors.
Advertisement
The U.S. Department of State revoked visas for South Sudanese passport holders last month on the eve of the Final Four in retaliation for South Sudan refusing to accept citizens deported from the U.S. “in a timely manner,” according to a New York Times report. While Maluach, who is in the U.S. under a student visa, and other South Sudanese citizens haven’t faced deportation orders, the ruling does mean that for the time being, Maluach (and other visa holders) can’t leave the U.S. and re-enter the country under the current rules. Similarly, South Sudanese passport holders can’t be issued visas to visit the U.S. But according to a league source, Maluach also holds a Ugandan passport, which should allow him to travel more freely.
Duke freshman Khaman Maluach — one of two every-game starters for the Blue Devils, and a key piece of the team’s Final Four run — has officially declared for the NBA Draft, the school announced Sunday. The 7-foot-2 Maluach — who was born in South Sudan but grew up in Uganda before joining the NBA Academy Africa — is a projected lottery pick and one of the best bigs available in this class. In The Athletic’s most recent mock draft, NBA Draft expert Sam Vecenie had Maluach being selected No. 14 by the Atlanta Hawks.
Cavaliers associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and Rockets assistant coach Royal Ivey are two more names to monitor, league sources say. Ivey began establishing himself as an NBA head coaching candidate by steering South Sudan's national team into last summer's Paris Olympics and presumably would have an even stronger connection to this job if the Suns decide not to trade Ivey's close friend and former college teammate Kevin Durant.
The decision by the Trump administration to revoke visas for South Sudanese passport holders could affect the ability of Duke men’s basketball player Khaman Maluach to reenter the United States if he were to leave. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the decision before the Duke Final Four game on Saturday, saying it had been made because South Sudan refused to accept citizens deported from the U.S. “in a timely manner.”
Advertisement
Basketball Africa League president Amadou Fall proudly smiled when he reflected on how the start of his league’s fifth “milestone season” on Saturday coincides with two of its esteemed alumni playing in the Final Four back in the United States. Duke freshman center Khaman Maluach of South Sudan is playing against Houston tonight in the national semifinals in San Antonio. Florida sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu of Nigeria will face Auburn in the other semifinal tonight. Both are BAL and NBA Africa Academy alums. Meanwhile, the BAL’s fifth season opens up for the first time in Morocco with two games tonight and the next generation of budding African stars on the horizon.
Carlik Jones: 'There were a few offers from the NBA'
Carlik Jones: However, he decided to move to Europe regardless. “There were a few offers from the NBA, but not as many as reported. Many people were worried and nervous, but you shouldn’t believe everything that is written. It’s true that I received some offers, but I knew from the beginning that Partizan was the ideal club for me. It seemed like the best decision”, he said.
He also came back to how he was reached by the black-and-white side. “They told me how much they respect my game, I had several conversations about my role, what I should expect from the team, but also what they expect from me”, the South Sudanese national team’s leader first revealed. “For me, it came out of nowhere, I did not expect Partizan’s invitation, I was a free agent, and that’s when you don’t know what kind of offers you’ll get. It’s up to you to work your way up and hope that an invitation like this comes. And I’m glad it did”, Carlik Jones followed.
Cavaliers adding JT Thor
Shams Charania: Free agent forward JT Thor has agreed on a two-way NBA contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium . Thor – a 2021 second-round pick to Charlotte – averaged seven points and five rebounds in South Sudan’s games in the Paris Olympics.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement