Suns draft pick Khaman Maluach: ‘Sometimes I let the emotions out’
Khaman Maluach was emotional after being selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 2025 NBA Draft.
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Phoenix Suns fans likely remember where they were when Phoenix traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and more.
Dillon Brooks will likely always remember where he was.
“I was at a spa… having a peaceful time and found out,” Brooks told Esfandiar Baraheni of The Athletic. “But I was happy about it. Excited to be a part of a young and hungry team.”
Phoenix offloaded their oldest player in 36-year-old Durant. The trade brought back two players in their 20s in Brooks and Green, with Green being 23. They also drafted 18-year-old center Khaman Maluach with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft that they received back in the deal.
The youth movement extends beyond those three, as the Suns traded for 23-year-old center Mark Williams days later. Brooks sees not just a young team but a hungry one, too.
Green is looking to bounce back from the 2025 postseason, where the shooting guard shot .372/.295/.667 shooting splits on the way to 13.3 points per game. He was the No. 1 scoring option on the Rockets this past season as the Rockets lost their first-round series to the Golden State Warriors.
As for Maluach, the Duke product has not been shy about his hunger to represent Africa.
Khaman Maluach’s story is just beginning ✨
Born in South Sudan 🇸🇸
Fled to Uganda.
Discovered basketball at 14 thanks to a stranger.
Walked an hour just to hoop.
⚡️ One year later: Earned a scholarship to NBA Academy Africa.
🌐 Attended Basketball Without Borders camp, where… pic.twitter.com/25xz2lABYY
— FIBA Basketball (@FIBA) July 2, 2025
“I want to change the narrative of how people see Africa,” said Maluach, who was born in South Sudan and grew up in Uganda.
“I’m representing those two countries,” Maluach said. “I feel like these two countries are home to me and I didn’t want to forget where I come from. And I want to represent them aptly. … I represent those two countries and I also represent the whole of Africa.”
Williams also has been playing with a chip on his shoulder; as he increased his field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds per game, steals per game and blocks per game marks ever since the Los Angeles Lakers rescinded their trade for him near the 2025 NBA trade deadline.
He even relished in the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ drubbing of the Lakers in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs:
Brooks, a wing with an All-Defensive Team selection on his resume, was already having a peaceful time at the spa.
Hearing the trade news made him even happier, as he backs the Suns’ choices of going younger and doing that with motivated players.