Most fans know Khaman Maluach from highlights, the 7-foot-1 center from South Sudan who went from Duke to the Phoenix Suns in a hurry. NBA Take-Two Media's new series is more interested in what his life looks like when he isn't playing, and the first episode brings him to Los Angeles.
Foreign Exchange is a six-episode original series from NBAT2 that premiered Nov. 5. It follows Maluach and filmmaker and creator Aria Inthavong as they work their way through Los Angeles' food, neighborhoods and people. Booking.com, the NBA's official online travel partner, sponsors the series, which goes on to San Diego, Austin, San Antonio and Phoenix.
How he got here
Maluach was born in Rumbek, South Sudan, and didn't start playing basketball until 2019, when a motorcyclist saw the tall teenager walking along the road and stopped to tell him he should try the game. He went through NBA Academy Africa and into the Basketball Africa League, where he played for Uganda's City Oilers in 2024 and averaged 17.5 points, a league-leading 13.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.
He played one season at Duke, averaging 8.6 points on 71.2% shooting with 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks for a team that reached the Final Four. The Houston Rockets drafted him 10th overall in 2025 and traded him to Phoenix, which made him the highest-drafted player to come out of the BAL and NBA Academy Africa.
His story means a little more this fall because Reuters reported in October that the NBA closed NBA Academy Africa, its only training academy on the continent. Maluach is now probably the most visible player that program ever produced, and it's fair to wonder how many players like him get missed without it.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Nov 9, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach (10) against the San Antonio Spurs at Mortgage Matchup Center.
A bigger role in Year 2
Maluach barely played as a rookie, appearing in 46 games and averaging 3.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game while spending time with the G League's Valley Suns. Phoenix still threw him into its first-round playoff series against Oklahoma City.
Mark Williams hurt his shoulder before training camp, and the 20-year-old opened his second season as the Suns' starting center. He's averaging 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game, and Phoenix picked up his third-year option to keep him under contract through 2027-28. Suns general manager Brian Gregory said at Media Day that Maluach's body has changed and that he's stronger and moves differently than he did a year ago.
Off the court
What I like about the series is that it catches Maluach at a strange point in his life. He's starting for an NBA team while still learning how American cities work, and he only just turned 20. Foreign Exchange puts the games aside and lets him be a young guy figuring out a new place in real time.
The Los Angeles episode follows him and Inthavong through different neighborhoods and restaurants, and it gives fans a more personal look at a player they mostly know through box scores.
NBAT2 chief revenue officer Brian Szejka told Net Influencer the series builds on NOMAD, NBAT2's existing global travel series, and that each season of Foreign Exchange will follow a different international player. He also said NBAT2's editorial team leads the series while Booking.com handles the travel.
Full episodes are on NBAT2's YouTube channel, with short clips on Instagram and TikTok and more content on Maluach's own accounts.
The league has never had more international players, and plenty of them are going through what Maluach is going through right now. If NBAT2 keeps picking players with stories like his, a kid who first picked up a basketball six years ago and now starts at center in the NBA, the series should have plenty to work with in future seasons.