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It has been quite the couple of weeks for Phoenix Suns' center Khaman Maluach. After a rookie campaign in which he was at best incredibly raw and at worst completely lost out there, the 19-year-old had a fantastic Summer League showing.
So dominant were his performances out in Las Vegas, that the Suns elected to shut him down and bring him back to The Valley early after only four appearances.
Maluach named most improved sophomore at Summer League by ESPN
You couldn't blame the national media for not paying attention to a guy who played less than nine minutes per game in his rookie campaign, but Ben Golliver of ESPN sure liked what he saw in Vegas.
Naming Maluach the Most Improved Sophomore (an admittedly niche award to begin with) some nice recognition for how comfortable he looked out on the court. The former Duke standout was the 10th overall pick for a reason, while it is widely accepted that big men take longer to adapt to the league.
But against players of a similar age profile and including guys who are fighting to simply make it on an NBA roster, the South Sudanese center was on another level entirely in the games he did appear in. Having seven turnovers on one occasion can also be viewed as a positive, given we saw a level of ownership with the ball in hand which did not exist last season.
Obviously this won't translate immediately when the real games begin again for the 2026-27 season, but it was the kind of showing deserving of some love and which was the next step in the progress of Maluach.
Having a massive impact on both ends of the court against players in and around the same age and supposed skill level is exactly what the Suns would have wanted to see at this point.
Maluach nabbing this award also makes the Suns' decision to continue to give away future draft picks even more puzzling, as they have proven through the addition of the big man and Koa Peat that they can find value with these selections.
We're not quite ready for Mark Williams to move out of the way to allow Maluach to flourish either, but getting some love from the national media is never a bad thing. It is both deserved and the next (small) step in building another winner around Devin Booker.
Maluach is already looking like the best center in Phoenix since Deandre Ayton.
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This article was originally published on valleyofthesuns.com as Suns should be thrilled as Khaman Maluach receives first national praise of career.
