Duke freshman, native of South Sudan, enters NBA draft amid immigration order

Steve Wiseman, The News & Observer on Apr 27, 2025

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DURHAM, N.C. — Duke’s Khaman Maluach, a relative newcomer to basketball who boosted his game greatly with NBA Academy experience, entered his name for the NBA draft before the 11:59 p.m. deadline Saturday night, he announced on social media on Sunday.

A 7-2 center from South Sudan who is still 18 years old, Maluach has been projected as a lottery pick in this summer’s NBA draft.

Duke coach Jon Scheyer, in a social media video, praised Maluach for what he showed on the court and off for the Blue Devils this season.

“An NBA team is getting a guy who’s going to anchor a defense, he’s going to eventually be stretching the floor in the offensive end,” Scheyer said in a social media video. “But he’s the ultimate guy that, he’s the ultimate teammate, as good of a lob threat as there is. He can really protect the rim, can run the floor, he can do so many different things So I know an NBA team is gonna be really lucky to get him, because there’s not many Khamans out there in the world, and I’ve been lucky to coach him as a person, and obviously the impact, he’s made as a player will will last forever.”

Saturday night, as the deadline to declare for early entry approached, Maluach posted to his Instagram story at about 10 p.m. with lyrics from hip-hop artist Rod Wave’s 2023 song, “Long Journey.”

“Dear God, I thank You for

Everything You gave to us, uh

You kept them devils away from us, uh

And You finally made a way for us, I say”

Maluach, whose family fled war-ravaged South Sudan to live as refugees in Uganda, only began playing basketball in 2019. He attended a basketball camp organized by former Duke player Luol Deng and was invited to NBA Academy Africa in Senegal.

That move led Maluach to join the South Sudanese national team at age 16. When South Sudan qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Maluach received that valuable playing experience before he moved to the United States to begin classes at Duke last August.

One of two freshman who started all 39 games for Duke, Maluach averaged 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds while helping the Blue Devils (35-4) win the ACC championship and advance to the Final Four. He blocked 1.3 shots per game as Duke produced one of the nation’s best defensive performances for the season.

“I‘ve absolutely loved coaching Khaman,” Scheyer said. “I’m gonna miss him every single day. He’s got the most contagious personality, just being around him every day in our building. Of course, he’s got an incredible skill set on the floor being 7-2 and he’s got great timing and his ball skills are great.”

Maluach’s final game with Duke, a 70-67 loss to Houston in the NCAA Tournament national semifinals at San Antonio’s Alamodome, saw him fail to grab a rebound.

That day, his immigration situation also grew tense: Shortly before the Final Four games, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new plan to revoke all visas held by people with a South Sudanese passport.

While no action has been taken since then, the State Department has not announced any change to that plan.

Maluach, whose sister was also in the United States to watch him throughout the NCAA Tournament, didn’t know his status in the country was in peril until after the game. He was not available for postgame interviews and has not made any public statements regarding the situation.

Duke’s three freshmen starters — Maluach, Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel — are all projected to be top-10 NBA draft picks.

Scheyer must now look to replace all five starters. In addition to the three freshmen, 6-5 junior guard Tyrese Proctor also declared for the draft, and 6-6 forward Sion James, a starter since December, has exhausted his NCAA eligibility.

Players who enter the draft early have until June 15 to withdraw from the draft and return to school.

For next season’s team, Duke returns 6-11 sophomore center Pat Ngongba and 6-9 senior forward Maliq Brown in the post. The incoming freshman class features 6-11 power forward Nik Khamenia and rangy 6-9 small forward Cameron Boozer.

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