Khaman Maluach
Phoenix Suns · Center · 7′2″ 250 lb · age 20 · Duke · 2nd season
Availability
Next game Fri, Oct 30 vs DEN. The injury report for it appears the day before.
Recent changes
- Oct 21AvailabilityAvailable
Season form
3 games this seasonStarts 3 of 3 games · 6th on PHX in minutes · Rotation role
Bars: minutes in his last 3 games · numbers: points
Situational splits: turn on Prediction tools.
What's being said
28 items · 8 sources this season- X Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) · Report ·
Jordan Ott made a point that Khaman Maluach will have his hands full with two 7-footers in Hartenstein and Mara, adding with teams crashing the offensive boards and the duty of the wings to box out a guy, Maluach will be left 1-on-1 with an OKC big. Keep an eye on that. Ott
- Bluesky @johnhollinger.bsky.social · Report ·
Starters for Phoenix: Jalen Green, Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges, Khaman Maluach. Oso Ighodaro is out.
- Podcast Zach Lowe, The Zach Lowe Show · Analysis · around the league
Lowe doubts how far the Suns can go if Maluach and Ighodaro are the center pairing and play like this. He still has Phoenix as a play-in team. He also says Morant and Dame looked okay together for Portland.
“Opening Night Overreactions, Alarming Trends, Hot Takes, and More!” at 47:46 · listen ↗
- Podcast Locked On Suns · 2 points ·
- Khaman Maluach won the starting center job. at 23:01
- unnamed sources inside the Suns organization (reported): The host relayed his own earlier sourced report, posted on Twitter after Mark Williams' injury: Jordan Ott would likely give Oso Ighodaro a chance to start, but the feeling inside the building was that it was Khaman Maluach's job to lose. at 27:04
“EMBARRASSED: The Suns Get BLOWN Out By Blazers As Devin Booker And Miles Bridges FAIL To Show Up” · listen ↗
- RotoWire RotoWire · Report ·
Available, starting
- Podcast Matt Ishbia (quoted), via Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective · Quote · name not confirmed around the league partly checked episode
Ishbia on the second-year big heard as Khaman Maluach: a monster inside on defense, he can shoot the three, he directs traffic on defense, he just turned 20, and the Suns will build with him.
“Full Opening Night Reaction - What Stars Made Major Statements?” at 32:53 · listen ↗
- X Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) · Report ·
Suns big Khaman Maluach as Oso Ighodaro (right oblique strain) is listed as doubtful for tonight's game vs. Warriors: "It's the same approach for me. It don't matter whether Oso is out or whether he's playing, we both have the same approach. We're good players. We're there for
- X Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) · Report ·
Suns Jordan Ott still mum on who will start at center between Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach. #Suns
also reported by Benjamin Garcia, Locked On Suns
- Podcast Locked On Suns · Analysis · wording unclear in audio
Cilley says Ott's playoff rotations and substitutions fell flat. In the first or second playoff game, Ott put in Khaman Maluach, there was a roughly 30-point fourth quarter, the game nearly flipped, and the starters had to come back in.
“SEASON PREVIEW: Devin Booker MUST Get Back To All-NBA Status For Suns To Win A Playoff Series” at 30:29 · listen ↗
- Podcast Hardwood Knocks host · Prediction · around the league
Mark Williams is not healthy to start the year. A host's wild-card reasoning: Oso Ighodaro starts, and Khaman Maluach moves ahead of Williams and could close games.
“2026-27 NBA Awards Predictions AND Wild Card Picks” at 1:03:41 · listen ↗
- Podcast The Mismatch host · Analysis · around the league
Phoenix: Mark Williams is not available for an unknown length of time. A host also says Khaman Maluach effectively redshirted last year. He doubts their front-court size and rim protection can support the backcourt, and dropped Phoenix out of his play-in after Jalen Green returned.
“Gearing Up for the Best Regular Season Ever” at 32:26 · listen ↗
- Podcast Hardwood Knocks host · Prediction · around the league
Dan sets an over/under on whether Maluach becomes Phoenix's starting center before or after Christmas; Mort takes before.
“1 Big Question For Every NBA Teams In The Western Conference” at 54:18 · listen ↗
- Podcast Locked On Suns · 2 points ·
- Host's projected bench lineup: Collin Gillespie, Luke Kennard, Jalen Green, Khaman Maluach and Ryan Dunn. at 10:33
- Host says that at Summer League, Khaman Maluach was clearly further along in his development than Fleming. at 23:56
“BREAKOUT: Ryan Dunn Could Be The Missing Piece For The Phoenix Suns Off The Bench” · listen ↗
- Podcast Locked On Suns · 3 points ·
- Phoenix Suns (unnamed) (reported): Garcia says the team talks very highly of Khaman Maluach. He says their comments on Rasheer Fleming are not bad but far less glowing. at 27:19
- Silly thinks the Suns expected a leap from Khaman Maluach but are not expecting one from Rasheer Fleming. He also says there is a logjam at the position. at 28:16
- Silly says that when Khaman Maluach went to the G League, he put up about 25 and 15 and dominated. at 30:42
“Why The Suns NEED Devin Booker to DELIVER Vintage Season Long Performance To Reach Their Peak” · listen ↗
- Podcast Locked On Suns · 7 points ·
- Benjamin Garcia: Garcia, saying he has not sourced this, thinks the Suns expected Khaman Maluach and Green to have better chemistry than they do, and says Green has more chemistry with Oso Ighodaro. at 9:19
- Voida says Mark Williams was supposed to be part of the rotation and a developmental buffer for Khaman Maluach. He talks about Williams in the past or conditional tense and gives no reason for Williams' absence. at 11:50
- Voida says Khaman Maluach's rebounding percentage over the first two preseason games, before his 15-rebound game against the Spurs, was 10%, compared with 22% in summer league and nearly 16% last year. He calls the sample very small. at 12:52
- Voida says Khaman Maluach had 10 points and 15 rebounds in the most recent preseason game, three games into the preseason. at 19:55
- people close to the situation (reported): Garcia says people close to the team are glowing about Khaman Maluach, but mention Rasheer Fleming only in passing, never negatively. Garcia reads this as a question mark over Fleming's progress. at 18:13
- Suns personnel at media day (reported): Voida says that at media day everyone praised Khaman Maluach's progress, attitude, effort and vocal leadership, including how he has gone to Devin Booker to ask how he can be a better center for him. at 20:10
- Voida says Khaman Maluach is coming in with the second unit, and that this has changed how the unit looks. at 20:58
“PROGRESS REPORT: Why You Should Feel BETTER About The Phoenix Suns Going Into The Regular Season” · listen ↗
- Podcast Locked On Suns · 3 points ·
- Benjamin Garcia: Khaman Maluach started tonight. The host notes Maluach never got to start alongside the actual first unit of Jalen Green, Booker, Brooks and Bridges. at 18:15
- Benjamin Garcia: The host says Khaman Maluach looked lost again early. He feels it takes Maluach two to three game minutes or longer to get going, and says he has to become more consistent. Once Maluach got going, the host called it special. at 15:06
- Benjamin Garcia: The host recalls, hedged with 'if I'm not mistaken', that Maluach blocked Wembanyama and the play turned into a Jalen Green fast-break basket. He sees Maluach as one of the few players who can make Wembanyama work hard. at 16:55
“REACTION: The Phoenix Suns BEAT The Spurs As Jalen Green And Khaman Maluach DOMINATE!” · listen ↗
Podcast items are our short summaries of what was said, credited to who said it; posts and stories link to the original. Opinions and rumors are labelled as such and are not checked facts.
Game log
● = started2026-27 season
| Date | Opp | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | 3PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26 | @OKC L | 26 min | 12 pts | 7 reb | 1 ast | 0 3PM |
| Oct 24 | GSW W | 28 min | 9 pts | 9 reb | 3 ast | 1 3PM |
| Oct 21 | @POR L | 17 min | 2 pts | 6 reb | 1 ast | 0 3PM |
2025-26 season (last season) · 51 games
| Date | Opp | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | 3PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27 | OKC L | 5 min | 2 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Apr 25 | OKC L | 7 min | 2 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Apr 22 | @OKC L | 19 min | 4 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Apr 19 | @OKC L | 15 min | 0 pts | 3 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Apr 17 | GSW W | 5 min | 0 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Apr 12 | @OKC W | 29 min | 18 pts | 14 reb | 0 ast | 2 3PM |
| Apr 10 | @LAL L | 8 min | 4 pts | 3 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Apr 8 | DAL W | 30 min | 4 pts | 14 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Apr 7 | HOU L | 1 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Apr 2 | @CHA L | 3 min | 1 pt | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 31 | @ORL L | 3 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 30 | @MEM W | 13 min | 6 pts | 11 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 28 | UTA W | 20 min | 12 pts | 9 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 24 | DEN L | 11 min | 6 pts | 1 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 22 | TOR W | 17 min | 7 pts | 7 reb | 0 ast | 1 3PM |
| Mar 21 | MIL L | 16 min | 2 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 19 | @SAS L | 14 min | 4 pts | 5 reb | 1 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 17 | @MIN L | 12 min | 2 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 16 | @BOS L | 12 min | 2 pts | 3 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 13 | @TOR L | 4 min | 2 pts | 1 reb | 1 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 12 | @IND W | 14 min | 4 pts | 3 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 10 | @MIL W | 15 min | 8 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 8 | CHA W | 20 min | 4 pts | 9 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 6 | NOP W | 20 min | 4 pts | 4 reb | 1 ast | 0 3PM |
| Mar 5 | CHI L | 12 min | 2 pts | 4 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Feb 24 | BOS L | 6 min | 5 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 1 3PM |
| Feb 22 | POR L | 16 min | 7 pts | 7 reb | 0 ast | 1 3PM |
| Feb 19 | @SAS L | 8 min | 4 pts | 6 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Feb 11 | OKC L | 12 min | 6 pts | 6 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Feb 1 | LAC L | 3 min | 0 pts | 1 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Jan 30 | CLE W | 3 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Jan 29 | DET W | 2 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Jan 25 | MIA L | 3 min | 2 pts | 1 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Jan 11 | WAS W | 5 min | 0 pts | 1 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Jan 7 | @MEM W | 4 min | 0 pts | 1 reb | 1 ast | 0 3PM |
| Jan 2 | SAC W | 5 min | 4 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Dec 31 | @CLE L | 4 min | 0 pts | 1 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Dec 29 | @WAS W | 1 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Dec 23 | LAL W | 6 min | 2 pts | 1 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Dec 10 | @OKC L | 10 min | 2 pts | 3 reb | 1 ast | 0 3PM |
| Dec 5 | @HOU L | 5 min | 2 pts | 3 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Dec 1 | @LAL W | 2 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Nov 29 | DEN L | 4 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Nov 24 | HOU L | 3 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Nov 13 | IND W | 6 min | 2 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Nov 10 | NOP W | 4 min | 0 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Nov 6 | LAC W | 1 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Nov 2 | SAS W | 4 min | 4 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Oct 31 | UTA W | 1 min | 0 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
| Oct 25 | @DEN L | 13 min | 6 pts | 2 reb | 1 ast | 0 3PM |
| Oct 24 | @LAC L | 5 min | 1 pt | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 3PM |
How his numbers change by situation, with four seasons of history →
Predictions about him
how calls are trackedMissed 1
- Missed Benjamin Garcia: Khaman Maluach comes off the bench for Phoenix to open the season.
2026-10-15 · Podcast · for @ POR, 2026-10-22 · result: started, 17 min Flag