Khaman Maluach’s rise to stardom over the past year with the South Sudan national team and Duke Blue Devils may have appeared sudden, but for those who have been paying attention to the 7-foot-2 center in Africa, it is no surprise.
At just 18 years old, Maluach is already turning heads as one of the most promising young basketball prospects in the world and a potential top-five pick at the 2025 NBA Draft.
His story is one of resilience, hope, and the transformative power of sport. From his birth in a war-torn nation to his rise as a basketball phenom, Maluach’s journey is a testament to the human spirit’s ability to rise above adversity and chase dreams against all odds.
Where Was Khaman Maluach Born?
Maluach was born in Rumbek, a town in Lakes State, South Sudan. Rumbek, once a significant cultural and political center, has been deeply affected by the decades of conflict that have plagued South Sudan.
The country, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long and brutal civil war, has struggled to find stability. Just two years after independence, South Sudan descended into another civil war in 2013, which lasted until 2018.
The conflict, rooted in political and ethnic tensions which were deliberately inflamed by Omar al-Bashir’s Sudanese government’s divide-and-conquer strategy to split the Nuer and Dinka tribes prior to South Sudanese independence, displaced millions and left the country in ruins. Even today, South Sudan remains fragile, with the threat of renewed violence looming large.
Like many South Sudanese families, Maluach’s parents sought safety and a better future for their children. When he was still too young to remember, his family made the difficult decision to leave their homeland and seek refuge in Uganda.
“I actually don’t know the year I left South Sudan… I don’t remember anything, moving to Uganda. All I know is that I grew up in Uganda,
