The day of the birth of Khaman Maluach In the town of Rumbek, South Sudan, on September 14, 2006, LeBron James had already been an NBA player for two seasons and even an All-Star. This reference to the Team USA player is not another pretext to talk about his exceptional longevity but above all a way to emphasize the extreme youth of the pivot.
He is in fact only 17 years old, for a few more days, which makes him, by far, the youngest player in this Olympic tournament – the second, Bilal Coulibaly, was born on July 26, 2004, so two years older.
Here he is at the Olympic Games, at the highest possible level, in a country where he would not be of age…
“It’s a daydream for me. I’m a small-town kid with big-city dreams. It's huge for my family, who can see me play. I dreamed that they would leave the country to see me on such a stage,” he explained after his match against Puerto Rico, where he scored two points. “This experience is a film. It was already the same at the World Cup in 2023. It's two years of experience and things go by very quickly.”
And in a few hours (9:00 p.m.), he will play against the world reference: the American team and its superstars, including the “King”. “I watched these players on TV, in the playoffs. I stayed up all night in Africa to watch them. I saw LeBron James and Joel Embiid, I admire them, I followed the bubble in 2020. To be on the court at the same time as them, it’s different. It’s a dream come true.”
“In five years, this will be his team”
For his coach Royal Ivey, Khaman Maluach can already be useful but obviously, a few weeks before turning 18, he above all embodies the future of South Sudan.
“He's our second pivot. I wanted to put him in early to see what he could bring, if he could help with the rebound. He's 17, he's learning against adults. There are good days, and also bad days, but he's staying in the rotation. I believe in him,” says the coach. “He's talented and in five years, this will be his team. I have to put him on the floor and put him in the hot moments. If he makes mistakes, I have to take him out. He's okay with that and it'll be better the next game.”
In a few months, the 2m18 pivot with impressive proportions (2m23 wingspan, 2m95 with arms raised) will undoubtedly make giant strides. He is playing in the Paris Olympics this summer, then will go to Duke in the NCAA in September, before joining, if all goes well, the NBA in 2025. From then on, it is possible that, in 2028 at the Los Angeles Games, we find him with already three seasons in the Major League under his belt and only 21 years old…
“It’s a crazy experience for a 17-year-old. He’s the heart and soul of this team. The life of the party. He’s one of the funniest guys on the team. He’s so light, so innocent. Half the time, he doesn’t even know what’s going on. And once he gets that fire in his heart, he’s going to be really good.”warns Royal Ivey.
