16-year-old Khaman Madit Maluach, FIBA World Cup's youngest debutant. (Photo: courtesy).

16-year-old basketball player Khaman Madit Maluach debuted for South Sudan in the win against China on Monday, arguably becoming the youngest player to participate in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Madit, the tournament’s youngest player was born on 14 September 2006, in Rumbek of Lake State, in central South Sudan.

He grew up in neighboring Uganda as a refugee, and started playing basketball there and later joined the NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal.

Madit played for the NBA Academy Africa before joining the South Sudan basketball team. He stands at 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) and plays the center position.

Madit also played for South Sudanese professional team Cobra Sport in the 2022 BAL season, as part of the BAL Elevate program.

Through this program, one NBA Academy player was assigned to each BAL team. He made his BAL debut on April 9 against defending champions Zamalek, scoring two points and recording two rebounds in seven minutes.

In March 2023, Maluach played in his second BAL season after he was drafted by the AS Douanes, the defending Senegalese champions.

The Douanes reached the final, in which Maluach started and contributed 2 points and 4 rebounds, as they lost to Al Ahly.

He attended the 2023 Basketball Without Borders in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was named the camp’s MVP.

In August 2023, Madit was included in the South Sudan national team roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.