[autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] and South Sudan nearly pulled off the upset of the summer during a Saturday exhibition game against Team USA.
During a friendly match in London ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games, the United States needed to pull out a miraculous 101-100 victory over the South Sudan national team.
Maluach, a member of Duke’s hyped 2024 recruiting class and a presumed lottery pick in next year’s NBA draft, scored seven points in 12 minutes off of the bench. He made three of his four attempts from the floor, pulled down three rebounds, blocked a shot, and even made a 3-pointer to tease his shot-making ceiling.
The future Blue Devil made an impression as early as he could with a breakaway dunk in the opening quarter.
The U.S. actually trailed in the final half-minute of the game before four-time NBA champion LeBron James drove his way to the basket for the go-ahead layup during the final 10 seconds.
Despite Maluach making an appearance during the exhibition and playing for South Sudan in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, he’s not listed on the official men’s national team roster online, implying that he won’t make the trip to Paris for the Olympic Games.