There is no one more important to the future of the Phoenix Suns and Devin Booker’s legacy than second-year center Khaman Maluach. Selected 10th overall in the 2025 Draft and with rare physical attributes, the Duke alum had a dominant Las Vegas Summer League showing, averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds, earning him an All-Summer League Second team selection. With Mark Williams sidelined for the foreseeable due to a shoulder injury, he’s got a golden opportunity to make a major leap, become the team’s
starting center and prove that he can be a cornerstone piece next to Booker in building the next elite Suns team. He’s taking initiative to make sure he becomes the game changer the team envisions him as.
On media day Monday, Booker shared that the two worked out during the offseason after Maluach reached out. Booker had heavy praise for the 20-year old, saying he’s taken the “biggest leap,” out of anyone he’s seen this summer.
With Booker playing the best basketball of his career when Deandre Ayton was in conversations for being one of the best young centers in the NBA and playing at a high level, the strong words from the franchises’s best playerbode well for Maluach’s chances to start.
What differentiates Maluach compared to the other centers that Booker’s played alongside are not only his physical attributes (he’s 7’1” with a 7’7” wingspan), but also his willingness and ability to shoot the three, something he improved on during the Summer, shooting 40% from three in Vegas after shooting just 24% from deep during his rookie campaign. Outside of Aron Baynes and Dario Šarić, he hasn’t played alongside many bigs who have the same potential to space the floor like he can.
Suns GM Brian Gregory said that he’s competing for the starting center spot and noted that he looks stronger and runs differently than a season ago. His biggest competitor for the position is Oso Ighodaro, who started 28 games last season, including all of the team’s playoff contests. Ighodaro is another one of the team’s best prospects, who made significant leaps in his second season and was the only Sun to play in all 82 games. His passing, durability and basketball awareness make him a valuable piece for the team’s offense.
While there’s a golden opportunity for the 2025 lottery pick to become the starter, Maluach says he just wants to do what’s best for the team, even if it means he comes off the bench.
While Booker’s praise of Maluach has made most of the headlines, the second-year big received a sea of compliments from his teammates and members of the organization on his character Monday, including newly signed guard Pat Spencer and team CEO Josh Bartelstein.
With many of the best team’s rosters built on elite guard/big duos (The New York Knicks with Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns and the Oklahoma City Thunder with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren), Khaman Maluach and Devin Booker are trying to take the first steps in building a rapport that can help them compete with the best of the Western Conference, and Maluach is making it easy for Booker to work with him.
