A little over two months ago, Khaman Maluach feared he was going to be deported from the United States. Now, he’s going to play in the NBA for millions of dollars with the Phoenix Suns.
Maluach was born in South Sudan and on April 5, the day his Duke University lost to Florida Gators in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, Marco Rubio – Donald Trump’s Secretary of State – announced plans to revoke all visas for South Sudanese nationals.
‘I am taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and to restrict any further issuance to prevent entry into the United States, effective immediately, due to the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner,’ Rubio wrote on X.
Duke immediately looked into the status of Maluach, whose status appeared deeply uncertain.
But he remained in the United States and according to CNN Sports, the 7ft 2 man is on a tourist visa at present but now he has been drafted by the Suns, he will be eligible to transfer onto a P1 visa.
After being taken with the 10th pick by the Suns, he stands to sign a four-year deal with the franchise worth $27.4million.
Khaman Maluach, 18, cried after being picked by the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Draft
Earlier in April, he feared deportation at the hands of Donald Trump and Marco Rubio (right)
Remarkably, visa drama is not the only thing that may have stopped the 18-year-old Maluach reaching the NBA. He didn’t even touch a basketball until he was ‘around 13, 14’ he says.
‘I just went to a camp and saw a lot of tall people who were happy and I was like, “This is where I belong”.
He had fled Sudan to Uganda as a kid when, as a teenager, a stranger told him to try the sport.
Maluach says he was stopped by a man on a motorcycle who said: ‘Yo, you should start playing basketball. In three to four years, you’ll be such a tall person.’
After being picked by the Suns on Wednesday night, Maluach had to wipe away tears as he spoke to ESPN.
‘Living in Africa, I had the whole continent on my back,’ he said through his tears. ‘I am here represening the whole continent, giving hopes to young kids, to the next generation of African basketball.’
Maluach’s teammate, Cooper Flagg, was the first pick in the draft in New York on the night itself by the Dallas Mavericks.
While they are now set to become NBA rivals, Flagg waited backstage to see where his former college teammate was going to be picked.
Maluach, pictured playing for Duke, only started playing basketball ‘at around 13 or 14’
And as part of the trade that saw Kevin Durant traded by the Suns to the Rockets, Maluach will now start his career in Phoenix.
Accroding to John Gambadoro, a Phoenix-based sports reporter, the Suns were equally thrilled and surprised that Maluach was still available by the time the 10th pick came around.
Last season, the Suns missed the postseason playoffs with a disappointing 36-46 record that was only good enough for 11th in the Western Conference.
It saw Mike Budenholzer fired as the team’s head coach. He has since been replaced by Jordan Ott.
