After a dominant Summer League showing, Khaman Maluach is tapping Rudy Gobert’s defensive wisdom and refining his jumper to transform from a raw prospect into Phoenix’s premier cornerstone.
It's not an understatement to say that Khaman Maluach is currently the most consequential player in regards to the future of the Phoenix Suns.
The 2025 10th overall pick is entering his second season with the Suns, which opened up with an emphatic showing in July's Summer League.
The 19-year old's average of over 19 PPG being accompanied by stringent rim protection and an over 40% conversion rate from three-point range certainly makes it seem that he is ready to make the jump into a consistent rotation figure, but that doesn't mean the work is done heading into the regular season opener in October.
Hayden Cilley of Clutch Points asked who the budding star has reached out to for advice during the bridge between rookie and sophomore seasons, with Maluach revealing that he spoke with multi-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner Rudy Gobert.
“I reached out to Rudy and I asked him how he keeps up with his body. What he does throughout the whole summer, and just really learn from him and have something to take away from him.”
There's certainly valuable lessons that Maluach can learn from a player that is already immortalized as an NBA legend - including how to train for a prolonged, grueling season, what mentality he should take as the major enforcer of a defense, and what he can do to maximize his ceiling as a play finisher.
Any advice is valuable advice for a player that is trying to find their way to take the next step in their career - this is no different here. Whatever advice Maluach has been receiving seems to be paying dividends at the moment, including another revelation that he has worked extensively with Kyle Korver to improve the base of his shot, as well as the overall form consistency.
At the end of the day, Gobert is a valuable reference point for Maluach in several areas that a modern-day big must excel in, but the South Sudanese center owns a skillset that is much more diverse than that of the French big man. There are moments where Maluach elicits flashes of elite stretch-bigs, including Jaren Jackson Jr., Evan Mobley, and Brook Lopez, while also showing a much higher ceiling as a rebounder in the process.
Suns fans should be absolutely thrilled with the progress that Maluach has made in the last year, and it wouldn't be a shock to see the 7'2" standout receive several starts in the season to come.
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Kevin Hicks is a contributing writer to SunsRoundtable. He can be reached on X @khicks_21.
