Incoming Duke basketball freshman Khaman Maluach makes South Sudan Olympic team

Khaman Maluach, one of Duke’s four five-star signees from the Class of 2024, will play for South Sudan in Paris this summer at the Olympic Games.

After months of speculation and a great exhibition performance against Team USA, [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] officially made the South Sudan Olympic Men’s Basketball team on Wednesday.

The South Sudan Basketball Federation revealed the 12-man Olympic roster bound for Paris, and the 7-footer made the cut.

The NBA Academy Africa product committed to Duke back in March, becoming the sixth and final member of the Blue Devils’ 2024 recruiting class. He’s received some NBA draft lottery hype for 2025 thanks to his height and defensive prowess, and he’s expected to immediately become one of the best shot-blockers in college basketball this fall.

Maluach made a strong impression against the American team on Saturday. He broke free for a running dunk in the first quarter, showed off his shooting ability with a 3-pointer from the corner, and even got the better of former NBA MVP Joel Embiid during a one-on-one possession. South Sudan led for most of the game, but four-time NBA champion LeBron James made a layup in the last 10 seconds for the one-point U.S. victory.

Maluach becomes the second Blue Devil officially on a men’s basketball roster for the Olympics as former Duke star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] joins Team USA for the second time. Former Blue Devil Chelsea Gray also made the U.S. Women’s Basketball Team.