PHOENIX — Starting Khaman Maluach has quickly grown from an option, to a decision, to a necessity for the Phoenix Suns.
Phoenix head coach Jordan Ott kept his starting center plans under wraps until the very final moments ahead of their season opener in Portland, surprising many by plugging in Maluach over the heavily expected Oso Ighodaro to begin the 2026-27 season.
The Suns were blown out in embarrassing fashion last night, with Maluach at the center of the fire. Maluach tallied two points and six rebounds in 17 minutes on the floor.
"It's probably a tough assessment. Throwing young guys into the fire. That's what you see and he'll learn from this," Ott said postgame (h/t Duane Rankin). "He was part of the group that's out there to start the game when that avalanche is coming.
"We need him. We need him to grow. He will continue to grow. We need him to take a step. He'll take steps. Now depending on what happens to Oso (Ighodaro), we need him even more. That's a spot we're in and I know he will take the challenge."
What happens with Ighodaro now remains to be seen, as the Suns' center departed just before halftime with a hip injury that plagued him in preseason play. Whether it be short or long-term, the Suns will need to rely on Maluach moving into the next stretch of play.
"Oh man, it felt great. The game didn't go the way we wanted it to go, but we've got to flush it and move on. Learn from this game. Got to watch film," Maluach said post-game (h/t Rankin).
"I got to do a better job of protecting the basket, being there for my teammates. So I'm going to watch minutes and watch the whole game overall and really learn from it. It's just a process for me, like a step by step. I just got to make sure I get better every game. I just got to make sure I don't make the same mistake twice."
Maluach has every bit of opportunity to learn and grow as he enters more playing time this season. He was already set for an increased role thanks to Mark Williams' injury, though Ighodaro potentially being out of the mix now forces the former top ten pick to grow into the shoes of a starter quicker than some initially believed.
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