Duke star Khaman Maluach names two former NBA MVPs who inspire his game

Former Duke Blue Devils center Khaman Maluach is set to join an NBA roster following the 2025 Draft. On Apr. 27, the one-and-done college basketball stalwart confirmed that he is declaring for this year's draft after a stellar one year with the Blue Devils.

The young bigman is currently projected to be the ninth overall pick come the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25. This puts him right behind his Duke running mates in Cooper Flagg, who is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick, and sharpshooter Kon Knueppel, who is projected to be selected seventh overall. This means that three Blue Devils are expected to be in the top 10 of this year's draft.

During an interview with @nbafuturestartsnow on Instagram earlier on Saturday, Maluach was asked about who his favorite NBA players are. The Rumbek, South Sudan native resoudingly answered that he looks up to two former regular season MVPs.

"Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo," Maluach said.

There seems to be an influence in Maluach's game from his favorite players, especially since Embiid and Antetokounmpo are two of the premier bigmen in the NBA. Both are former regular season MVPs, with the former winning the award in 2023 and the latter winning it in 2019 and 2020, along with individual resumes that stack up with the best in the league.

Along with naming his favorite NBA players, Maluach also shared which player he'd want to play a game of one-on-one with.

"LeBron James," he asserted.

With the kind of idols that Maluach looks up to in his budding basketball career, this will all come full circle if he is able to make into the NBA and match up against them in the near future.

Khaman Maluach wants fans to know that he is an all-energy type of player

Later on his interview with @nbafuturestartsnow on Instagram on Saturday, Khaman Maluach was asked about what one thing NBA fans should know about him. Given that he will be showcasing his skillset in the 2025 NBA Draft Combine from May 11 to May 18, Maluach wants fans to know that he is always going to bring high energy.

"That I'm an energy guy. Whatever team I'll go to, whatever city I'll go to, I'll bring the energy," he shared.

In his lone year of collegiate hoops, Maluach averaged great numbers for coach Jon Scheyer's Duke Blue Devils with 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.3 minutes per contest.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Nadim El Kak