Another Duke Blue Devil joins the NBA ranks, as the Houston Rockets selected Khaman Maluach in the first round with the No. 10 overall pick on Wednesday night at the 2025 NBA draft.
Maluach will begin his career with the Phoenix Suns, who acquired the pick via trade with the Houston Rockets in a deal that saw Kevin Durant head to Houston. That trade will become official when the league’s new year begins next month.
The Blue Devils have produced 60 first round draft picks, including at least one first rounder in 16 of the last 17 drafts.
Entering draft night, Maluach was projected to land either with the Brooklyn Nets as the No. 8 overall pick, the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 7 or the Washington Wizards at No. 6. Competing with fellow Blue Devil Kon Knueppel and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears, Maluach ultimately slipped to tenth overall.
As a 7-foot-2 true center, he averaged 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in his freshman season at Duke, shooting 71 percent from the field — the second-highest by a Duke freshman and third-highest in the program’s single-season history.
The Rumbek, South Sudan native also helped lead the Blue Devils to their first Final Four appearance under head coach Jon Scheyer, alongside No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.
“Being able to represent my continent, being able to represent South Sudan and be at this level, it means a lot to me,” Maluach said before the draft. “It’s not only impacting my family’s life, it’s impacting other kids’ families out there and other kids who love the game of basketball and the next generation of African talent. That keeps me working hard every day because I know I’m inspiring kids out there, back in Africa.”