Age

18.4

Height

7'2''

Weight

250

Workload

MIN%

50.5

USG%

15.6

TS%

76.4

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

17.0

REB

13.0

AST

0.6

STL

0.4

BLK

1.4

TOV

1.4

Efficiency

RIM FG%

82

MID FG%

67

3PT FG%

14

FT%

77

Jump to full report

Report by: Matt

Khaman Maluach

Big Duke

Towering rim finisher with rim protection and shooting upside

Age

18.4

Height

7'2''

Weight

250

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

17.0

REB

13.0

AST

0.6

STL

0.4

BLK

1.4

Positions Defended

Offensive Role

 

Defensive Role

   

Introduction

A childhood refugee from South Sudan, Khaman Maluach was late to basketball at age 13, joining the NBA Academy Africa before playing in the professional Basketball Africa League at age 15. Maluach has shown enormous strides year to year from that point, initially utterly lost on the court. With his legs now beneath him, Maluach has the chance to continue to develop not just big man technique but some midrange and perimeter skill as well – particularly the shot. If this trajectory can continue as he kicks off his NBA career, the ceiling is lofty for the 7’2” Maluach.

The Offense

Let’s get one item out of the way: Khaman Maluach will shoot.

First, let us remember the lesson from Owen Phillips’ recent newsletter: the act of shooting is more important than shooting well. There is a much stronger correlation between three-point volume and how much you impact spacing than just your raw three-point percentage. It is natural instinct, as a defender, to run at whoever is shooting regardless of the identity. It is a tough habit to break and that is why volume rules supreme.

You may wonder how this applies to Khaman Maluach, who has taken seven threes in 21 games with Duke. But it doesn’t take too much time watching his pre-Duke tape to see it. Maluach shot four threes per 36 minutes in his team in the Basketball Africa League, where he was a pro from ages 15 to 17.

Even from that young age, Maluach was extremely willing for a big. That four threes per 36 number is also in the context of playing mostly in the interior. When he got even somewhat decent looks, he let it fly.

The ball misses more than it makes in that video, but his percentages in the BAL were good for age and position, 32% on 57 attempts. Focus as well on the fluidity, where Maluach is able to keep his balance even when shooting off of some movement. The release is quick and high with a good follow-through. Draft analysts talk about energy transfer and the smoothness from set up to release jumps off the screen.

The key to whether his shot makes or misses is his right foot. The one inconsistency in his form, when he turns it inward too much he loses his distance accuracy. Every time the foot faces relatively direct to the basket, the form is sweet. It is unfortunate how little interest Duke has in developing this part of his game, but the instincts are there. Convincingly.

Khaman Maluach’s bread and butter, however, will be his rim finishing. Maluach is flat-out one of the best lob threats the NCAA has seen. He is 23 for 24 as the roll man finisher at the basket, with his 95% mark surpassing that of all recent big men prospects: https://x.com/DraftPow/status/1881734090669408281.

Four major components make Maluach possibly the best recent roll man prospect. First, his standing reach is 9’8”. That is an inch more than Wemby. No more need to contextualize that. Second, his screening is excellent. Maluach has already mastered the art of the moving screen which doesn’t get called. This opens up all the space needed.

Third, Maluach has excellent touch near the basket, able to force the ball in even when he can’t finish the lob. He is 21 for 27 (78%) on layups! Compare that again to our big man comparables: Chet was 71%, Mobley 66%, Lively only 52%. Khaman is always two inches away from the rim when he reaches up and can softly guide the ball in from there.

Last, Maluach is excellent at waiting until the last moment to leap. That is perhaps the most essential rim running trait of all. Much like his shooting technique, his footwork is precise and light, shuffling just as needed before taking off. He is a highly accurate leaper, more important than any max vertical when you are already that tall (though his max vertical is not bad, either).

These four factors together made Maluach one of the best rim threats in the entire BAL by age 16. A true lob threat savant.

These factors also make Maluach a consistent threat on the offensive glass. He is in the 88th percentile for putback frequency led by a 16% offensive rebound rate, finishing those at a good 69% efficiency. He gets fouled on nearly a third of his putback possessions as well. Even in the absence of strength to get positioning, as one of the skinniest players in the BAL until age 17, Maluach could reach over opponents in a timely fashion.

Maluach’s true upside talks happen when we get into the rest of his offensive game. If you made it this far, I can reward you with an unholy player comparison for Khaman Maluach: Kristaps Porzingis (mostly the Celtics version). We covered the shooting, as I think Porzingis’ career 36% from three is not out of the question for Maluach if things click. Maluach has shown some promise working out of the post as well, even though Duke has removed these reps entirely.

In the BAL, Maluach was more free to explore the studio space, even if post ups were far from a staple. He seemed to spontaneously add new things when he did get these reps, including a Dirk fade and some over-the-shoulder reads. Perhaps the most promising clip below is his mid-post arm sweep foul draw, a ploy far ahead of his 16 years of age, or for someone in their third year of playing the sport.

With his height, touch and shooting form, there is little reason to think Maluach can’t score out of the post. But where we REALLY get to his upside is even beyond. Yes, we’re about to hype up the handle and passing of a big with a 0.4 assist to turnover ratio.

Compared to his pre-NCAA tape, Maluach is under highly restrictive circumstances at Duke. While not a point center or anything close to it, Maluach is no stranger to bringing the ball up an open court or even dribbling between his legs on the perimeter. Most encouragingly, he showed a couple of fake dribble handoffs which led to one or two dribble drives and thunderous rim finishes.

Here comes into play the benefits of compounding skills. Maluach’s size makes the distance to the rim shorter. Maluach’s shot means you have to provide some space to drive. Maluach’s screening means you have to honor the screen receiver as well. Even if it is just a single dribble, Maluach can cram it driving from the perimeter.

The below clips are not perfect, but again are in the context of a seven-foot-two player new to the sport, coming from soccer, with very limited ballhandling experience. At age 18, this will only look better and better, but the reps need to come somehow, even if infrequent.

The biggest question mark with Maluach’s offensive game is the passing but, yes, I am relatively optimistic there too. The instincts are not the issue – Maluach has shown time and again he understands where the leverage point in the defense is. The issue is the timing and strength, technique to deliver a pass with force. Those factors cannot be entirely written off as due to age, but Maluach’s improving pattern recognition (more on that later) means he is not bound to the ATO basement.

Maluach’s offensive upside is tremendous due to potentially compounding skills at his size; however, even if one or multiple do not pan out, he is highly likely to be one of the best roll threats in the league. That’s the floor.

The Defense

Let us start with the obvious: Khaman Maluach is a very large person who also moves very well on their feet. Assuming even a fairly low baseline of instincts and technical proficiency, that has value. And Maluach’s instincts and technique have been improving…rapidly.

There is enough evidence in the tape to suggest Maluach would be able to snuff out drives by quicker bigs or slower wings, and still get decent contests against guards. While I would not call him fully switchable, he provides enough needed for the defense to re-set and relieve him.

Maluach started his BAL career at age 15, his third year playing basketball. It would be shocking if he, up against veterans as much as twenty years older, stood out as far as positioning or defensive instincts. Maluach’s earliest instincts remind me of someone playing a video game without knowing the controls, pressing random buttons. He constantly tried to draw charges seconds too early, or did not understand when to contest as the offensive player neared the hoop.

Maluach showed some high-level instincts regardless. While the technique was typically lacking, Maluach still made help rotations at timely occasions. When you’re his size, it does not take perfect timing, but the degree of anticipation here and there suggests some latent talent. His 7.5% block rate at age 15 is a testament to some awareness, far ahead of the curve for a recent player in a professional league. While the BAL is among the worst pro leagues for competition level (if not the single worst), the gap in cognitive development for a 15-year-old compared to someone at their athletic peak forces these rotations to be timely to ensnare a block.

Maluach’s block rate rose to 8.1% at age 16 and stayed high at 7.9% at age 17 in the BAL, but has fallen down to 6% at Duke. In spite of this seeming regression, I am highly encouraged by the sharp improvement in technique from his earlier years. The help defense was already useful, but primary rim protection fully lacking pre-Duke. Maluach’s underdeveloped pattern recognition, very recent to the sport, held him back from knowing when to flip his hips or anticipate when the shot was going up. While not “pressing random buttons” like before, opponents knew they could feast inside due to his lack of consistent contests. As a sign of how physically talented Maluach is regardless of these bad tendencies, he still won defensive MVP at the Basketball Without Borders Global camp in early 2024.

Even throughout the season, it is evident Maluach has refined his technique and begun to better anticipate offensive actions. He has always been one of the most vocal players on the defensive side of the court, now clearly locked in with his teammates. Duke’s defense has a ridiculous 86.7 defensive rating when Khaman is on the court, compared to a still elite 90.1 when off. However, their opponents’ rim shooting goes down a sharp 12 percentage points from 57% to 45% when Maluach is on the court, and on lower volume, too (numbers versus top 100 teams only). The supporting cast is elite, but the numbers are what they’re supposed to be for a primary rim-protecting prospect.

Just check out the video above, a compilation of Maluach’s high and lowlights over the past four seasons, where the improvement is obvious. His sense of timing has become superb, and technique has improved substantially. He is still out of place here and there, but the frequency has been dramatically limited.

The last part of the equation relates to both ends of the court: physical strength. Maluach has added a ton of weight from being perhaps the skinniest player in the BAL at age 15, but still stands to gain from continued development. He notably held his ground against Kentucky’s 262-pound Amari Williams on repeated post attempts.

Maluach’s defensive rebounding has been very low for a 7’2” player with Duke, with only a 19% defensive rebounding rate after posting a 27% figure his final season in the BAL. His hesitancy in going out and getting it grows, but has been increasing in confidence there, too. When he does spring, he is able to high point the ball in an instant, showing the talent is there (I wrote about the importance of this trait here).

The lower figure does cast some doubt on his ability to become a dominant rebounder, but given the physical tools and developing instincts, I do not see why could not, either. His rebounding rate has already been improving, in fact, at 22% in conference play (#4 for high major freshmen).

The Player

With his floor spacing potential, rim finishing superiority, and potential ball skill competency, Maluach’s ceiling as an offensive player is quite high. Due to the variety of ways he can improve, the floor is high, too. If Kristaps Porzingis is the reasonable upside comparison on offense, that puts Khaman as a +2-3 points per 100 offensive player in his peak, in the range of 25th to 50th best offensive player in the league. If the shot really hits and he is able to string together a couple dribbles consistently, we smash through that ceiling.

On defense, Maluach will likely take up primary rim protector duties, perhaps in bench units to begin his career, rather than as a helpside four. He is mobile enough, however, to play next to another big simultaneously (once again, think Porzingis next to Horford). This once again speaks to Maluach’s favorable combination of high ceiling and floor. If the instincts continue to improve at this pace, he will become a highly effective drop defender, even by NBA standards. He might be able to do that while not being taken advantage on switches, either. I don’t think a +1.5-2.0 points per 100 contribution on defense is out of the question, in the range of tenth to thirtieth best defender in the league.

Adding it all up, Maluach could range from a +2 to +6 points per 100 added in his prime. In simpler terms, I cannot rule out All NBA appearances and have a baseline of solid starter.

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