Khaman Maluach - NBA Mock Draft Roundup 1.0

Leading up to the 2025 NBA Draft, we will track where Duke Blue Devils center Khaman Maluach appears in the latest NBA mock drafts.

Khaman Maluach NBA Mock Drafts

Here are some of the latest mock drafts in which Khaman Maluach has appeared:

For the Win — Bryan Kalbrosky

Round 1, Pick 13 — Atlanta Hawks (via LAL)

South Sudan's Khaman Maluach is having an excellent, efficient freshman campaign for Duke. He is raw but has a strong defensive presence as opponents are shooting just 50.4 percent at the rim with Maluach on the floor, per CBB Analytics, which ranks 98th percentile among all players. As a lob threat, per CBB Analytics, he leads all freshmen in alley-oops completed by nearly double any other player his class.

CBS Sports — Adam Finkelstein

Round 1, Pick 13 — Houston Rockets (via PHX)

The Rockets have arguably more young pieces than any franchise in the league, with essentially all five positions covered. While Maluach is admittedly still a project, particularly on the offensive end, he'd provide a complement to Alperen Sengun as a backup with size and length who can rim run, block shots, and move reasonably well laterally.

Bleacher Report — Jonathan Wasserman

Round 1, Pick 8 — Oklahoma City Thunder (via PHI)

Khaman Maluach's 19 points against Notre Dame highlighted his advantageous length and mobility for catching lobs, grabbing offensive rebounds and creating easy opportunities. He's also now up to 77.3 percent from the free-throw line, showing touch we've see him use on jumpers before he arrived at Duke.

Workouts will give Maluach a better opportunity to sell teams on his offense and range.

Regardless, he has a clear archetype with the size, length and movement for the easy baskets and rim protection to be deemed easily translatable. The stats might not show a lot of blocks, but the tape shows a disruptive defensive presence who forces his man to have to make difficult finishes over his reach.

The Athletic — Sam Vecenie

Round 1, Pick 25 — Brooklyn Nets (via HOU)

It's been an up-and-down season for Maluach. He's had highly impactful games, like a recent 15-point, eight-rebound outing against Georgia Tech. He's also had games when he's struggled to stay on the court, such as against Louisville where he saw just 11 minutes. He also struggled immensely against the two best frontcourts he faced this year in Auburn and Kansas, scoring a combined four points and grabbing four rebounds in 38 minutes. The role is easy to define, as he has immense size for the NBA center position at 7-1 with a 7-6 wingspan and a massive standing reach. I've also been impressed with him in space defending out on the perimeter, using his feet to slide with opposing guards well. But Maluach desperately needs to become more impactful on offense, as his hands have been hit-or-miss and his overall feel could use a boost. He has just five assists in 289 minutes, which is one of the lowest assist rates you will see for a potential first-round pick. But as a rim-running potential defender, teams will often bet on tools over production, and Maluach certainly has the tools.

ESPN — Givony/Woo

Round 1, Pick 11 — Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are in the midst of a strong season, winning half their games. They are within striking distance of potentially avoiding the play-in tournament, but BPI still gives them just a 34.6% chance of avoiding the lottery. Adding more young players might not be a massive priority for the Pistons, but a developmental big man such as Maluach could make sense for a team in this range.

He has been highly impactful in his 19 minutes per game for Duke, leading all draft prospects with a whopping +61.0 net rating, buoyed by his outstanding scoring efficiency (81% true shooting), offensive rebounding and game-changing reach. In addition, his intensity and defensive instincts have helped Duke become one of the best teams in the country on that end of the floor.

Maluach, one of the youngest prospects in this class with his 19th birthday in September, is still raw in many ways, especially offensively, and has a lot to prove in ACC play and the NCAA tournament. -- Givony

Fox Sports — John Fanta

Round 1, Pick 8 — Oklahoma City Thunder (via PHI)

The NBA Academy Africa product is a 7-2 specimen who can eliminate any and all shots that come in his way. If he's not blocking it, he's altering it in some way, shape or form. While his offense is an area that has room for growth, there are reasons to believe Maluach can become better in that category with how hard he plays and the fact that he's 18 years old. I love this kid's game perhaps more than other evaluators and think his defensive prowess gives him top-10 value.

MORE: NBA Draft Prospect Roundups