Khaman Maluach Media Availability | Phoenix Suns Training Camp Day 4

How are you, sir? Doing great. How about y’all? You know, I uh I just looked up the the summer league roster. Had you down for 253 lbs. I’m looking at you right now. I don’t see 253 pounds. So, have you added weight to your to your frame or or what? Yeah, I added a little bit of weight. I’m like 263 now. 262. So, be here the whole summer. So, they kind of helped me out through it. curious what things have you been really working on far as strength like what type of weights have you been have you been working with it’s not been really like weights weights it’s just like developing and uh getting strong from like the base and just like working with my weak spots whether it’s my hips my knees my quads and my upper body curious how have you noticed that working for you and so far in camp with the extra extra muscle I mean it’s been helping uh it’s been helping I feel like I’m right there I mean, I still I still have more work to do. I still have more strength to gain, but I feel like I’m right there. I feel like I belong, too. Thing I have was Grayson said how much you talk about the defensive coverage. You said that’s NBA ready right now. When did that start for you that you were that you were that talkative on the court? I mean, I think it’s it just adds on with my personality, too. I love talking outside the basketball court, so I guess it translates when I step on the basketball court, too. Are you surprised a little bit that they’re surprised that you talk so much? No, I’m not at all. I mean, I knew I always talk, so I wasn’t surprised. Did you go to uh you got the team up at Flagstaff before training camp started? Were you Were you up there? Yeah, I was the whole team was up there, so everybody was up there. So, I was there, too. What was that like? I mean, it was different. Uh it was my first time in Flagstaff. I didn’t know Arizona. I had a cold spot, too. So, it was my first time up there. Uh we had good training camp. It was uh it was a little bit higher than here. So got us like literally really got us ready for all this because we got in shape to towards that. What does it mean to you to as a player just to have leading this team and taking the initiative to organize that? I mean, it feels great to always go somewhere and you find someone who knows what to do and who’s going to lead the whole team or who’s going to tell you should do this, this, and this way so that uh so that you get ready for the season and and be able to play for a long time. Lots being thrown at you right now through camp. How have you kind of been navigating this process and breaking it down more? I mean, I just I just uh don’t think I just don’t overthink. I just don’t think too ahead of myself. And I wasn’t uh I wasn’t surprised or scared of anything cuz we did this at Duke. We did things similar cuz um at Duke it’s like your first year at Duke is like your first year rookie year and the NBA really cuz they teach us the same way. They teach us the same terminology and everything. So coming here I was already like expecting this and I already knew what’s going to happen. Who have you who have you kind of gravitated to most your first couple days of training camp? What do you mean by that? start spending time with talking to players who spend time most I try to spend time with every other player uh different days and just get to learn from different people and I’ve been on different teams so I get to talk to different point guards uh I lean towards also on Ryan too cuz they were here last year they were in my shoes last year so I get to ask them what they’ve done and I go back to the staff too and like Rex I go ask Rex cuz cuz Rex was here when when he was a rookie he was the same age as me so I go back and ask him a couple questions and I lean towards the rookies because they understand what I’m going through too. And we saw you putting the ball on the deck a lot. Some really Do you think that’s something that is gonna kind of give you more freedom to do once you start? What do you mean? Putting the ball on the deck feels like it’s like a skill of yours. You feel like that’s something you’re going to lean more into with you? Yeah, I mean everything. We’re going to do everything with steps. Uh we’re not going to rush anything. Everything is going to be a process and with time I would with time when you trust me I’ll be able to do that. How you feel? How you feel you are with your with your three so far? I mean I my three-point I’ve always felt good about it. I’m always confident in my three-point and if I’m open I’ll shoot it and if I have to roll to the basket to get my teammates wide open I’ll do that all day. How much did the open gym that you guys were having in the summer helped you so far? I can I mean I didn’t really play much uh during the open gym. I was really like getting just getting strong and uh and getting my strength back. But I watch a lot of open gym. Uh it was it was different from camp cuz now we have like things in place like these are the plays we’re going to run. But but open gym was more like a field thing like more like a instinctual thing. I wanted to follow up with you said preparing you for this. What things that you look at now you go you know what I’m glad I went there because they helped me develop A and C to get ready for it’s just the coverage. The coverage too. for example, in the defensive side, offense too, the way you flow into the game, the knowledge of the game, how you take care of your body, and how to carry yourself as a pro. I think I learned that at Duke, and Duke really prepared me for this. What did you think about uh FanFest the other day? I mean, obviously, it’s your first time kind of in front of some fans. Looked like you guys had a lot of fun playing games, just being around the team in that environment. So, how’d it feel being in front of the fans for the first I mean, it felt great walking off the stage and getting in the arena and seeing fans there. It’s like my first time like walking in the arena and see a lot of fans there and it just gives me an idea of what it’s going to be when the games get here. Thank you, sir. Appreciate you. Thank you.

Khaman Maluach speaks to the media following Day 4 of Phoenix Suns Training Camp on September 29th, 2025. Maluach talks about his first time in front of the home crowd at Fan Fest, being in the gym and bulking up, talking on the defensive end, and navigating is first training camp.

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