Maluach Grabbed 15 Against Wembanyama — Phoenix's Center Decision Just Got Harder
GOATIFYKhaman Maluach did not win a starting job in one October exhibition. He did, however, make the Phoenix Suns' most interesting lineup decision considerably more difficult. Against Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio, the 20-year-old center produced 10 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in Phoenix's 102–98 preseason victory. He finished a game-high plus-14, and the rebounding total stood out even more because of the opponent's extraordinary size.
The game mattered for reasons beyond the scoreboard. Mark Williams is sidelined following shoulder surgery, Oso Ighodaro opened the first two exhibitions at center, and coach Jordan Ott is still testing which combination can handle real NBA minutes. Maluach's best night of the preseason gave the staff a compelling answer to one question—whether his physical tools can change a game—while leaving the harder questions about positioning, consistency and the offense unresolved.
Fifteen Rebounds Against Wembanyama Were More Than a Box-Score Surprise
Ott's decision to start Maluach against San Antonio created a useful test. Wembanyama is not simply a tall opponent who stays in the paint. He attacks off the dribble, shoots from the perimeter, makes passes over defenses and forces opposing big men to choose between contesting a jumper and protecting the rim. A young center can collect rebounds against ordinary preseason lineups without answering any of those problems. Maluach had to confront them immediately.
The first encouraging sign was how often he stayed in front of the initial move. Wembanyama tried to create separation with his handle and length, but Maluach showed enough lateral movement to make several possessions uncomfortable. His recovery and vertical contesting were also better than the raw prospect who played limited minutes as a rookie. None of that means he shut down a superstar: Wembanyama still had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes, and he generated favorable looks for teammates when Phoenix's positioning broke down.
The rebounding, though, was difficult to dismiss. Maluach grabbed 15 in 21 minutes, including 12 on the defensive glass, and his size prevented San Antonio from automatically turning every missed shot into a second chance. He also finished a forceful interior sequence and knocked down one of his two three-point attempts. For a center trying to prove he can survive alongside the starters, those plays show a useful combination of reach, activity and enough offensive touch to keep defenders honest.
There were mistakes between the highlights. Stephon Castle found a passing angle for a Wembanyama lob when Maluach was out of position, and some ball-screen exchanges showed that his reads are still developing. He also mishandled a pass and needed reminders about his spacing and rebounding assignments. Those are meaningful errors for a player who might soon anchor the first unit, but they are also exactly the sort of errors that preseason minutes are designed to expose.
The accompanying action photograph comes from a previous Suns–Spurs meeting in the 2025–26 season, not Saturday's exhibition. That earlier version of Maluach is an instructive comparison. He averaged only three points and 2.9 rebounds in 8.9 minutes across 46 rookie appearances. Fifteen rebounds in a preseason start do not erase that sample, yet the difference in physical confidence is clear. The question is no longer whether he has NBA tools; it is how reliably he can apply them on consecutive possessions.
Kennard's 20 Points Showed Phoenix Has Another Way to Create Offense
Phoenix did not have Devin Booker for the game, with the All-Star sitting out as part of a planned preseason rest schedule. Miles Bridges also missed the contest while the team managed a minor ankle issue. That gave Luke Kennard a larger creative assignment than the Suns may need from him on most regular-season nights, and he responded with a game-high 20 points, five rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes.
Kennard went 8-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-10 from three. The number of attempts matters as much as the makes. Phoenix needs him to be willing to fire when the defense gives him daylight, rather than pass up a clean shot and allow the possession to slow down. He also attacked closeouts and used cuts to move defenders, showing that his value is not confined to standing in one corner and waiting for the ball.
His connection with Maluach offered a glimpse of how the two could complement each other. On one possession, the center found Kennard cutting toward the basket with a well-timed bounce pass. That is not a spectacular highlight in isolation, but it is the kind of small read that can make a second-unit offense work. When a shooter threatens from deep, defenders chase him; when a center can recognize that movement and deliver a pass, Phoenix can manufacture an easy basket without asking its stars to beat a defender one-on-one.
The challenge is how the minutes will fit once Booker returns. Kennard's 20-point night should not be interpreted as evidence that he must start or take the ball out of Booker's hands. It does suggest the Suns have a more flexible option when their primary scorers rest or when an opponent overloads the strong side. His experience gives Ott a player who can change the geometry of a possession without changing the whole playbook.
That matters to Maluach's development, too. A young center learns more quickly when guards reward a well-set screen, make themselves available on cuts and force defenders to respect the outside shot. Kennard's performance helped Phoenix win a preseason game; his movement may help Phoenix's inexperienced big men find a sustainable offensive role.
Jalen Green Brought the Pace — and the Decision-Making Test
Jalen Green supplied the other major scoring burst, finishing with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, three made threes and five assists. He attacked early, created downhill pressure and helped Phoenix build a 35–25 first-quarter lead. With Booker resting, Green had room to initiate more possessions and show how much of the offense he can organize himself.
His aggression gave the Suns a useful change of pace. A defense that is worried about Kennard sprinting into a three-point look also has to account for Green turning the corner and reaching the paint. Those two threats can make an otherwise ordinary preseason lineup surprisingly difficult to guard. Phoenix started hot from outside, and its first-quarter offense looked decisive rather than tentative.
Yet the game was not a clean bill of health for Green's playmaking. Some of his passes and drives created unnecessary risk, and there were stretches when the offense would have benefited from one more simple read. He finished with three turnovers. Those are not catastrophic numbers, but they illustrate the distinction between being a talented scorer who can pass and becoming a consistently dependable organizer of five players.
The larger team trend was positive. Phoenix committed 16 turnovers after giving the ball away 29 times in each of its first two preseason games. That is still more than the coaching staff would want in a tight regular-season contest, but the reduction suggests players are beginning to understand the spacing and tempo that Ott expects. Against San Antonio, Phoenix also converted turnovers into points and received 15 from Dillon Brooks, who supplied physical defense and a steady presence on the wing.
Green's next step is not necessarily to become a traditional point guard. It is to recognize when his speed has already forced the defense into a mistake and when another move would give that advantage back. On nights when he scores efficiently and reads the floor early, the Suns can survive without asking Booker to manufacture every quality possession. On nights when the decision-making slips, even a good shooting performance may not be enough.
The Starting-Center Question Is Bigger Than One Preseason Win
The most tempting conclusion from Saturday is that Maluach should start on opening night. That would be premature. Oso Ighodaro started Phoenix's first two exhibitions, and the coaching staff has seen much more of his decision-making, defensive communication and passing across a full NBA season. In 2025–26, Ighodaro played all 82 regular-season games, averaged 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds, and started 24 times. He offers a different type of reliability from the seven-foot-one Maluach.
That contrast is the real competition. Maluach supplies length, rebounding reach and a developing ability to deter shots at the rim. Ighodaro is a more experienced connector who can move the ball, switch assignments and make quick decisions when the offense is running through the elbows. Against San Antonio, he added eight points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Those contributions can be easy to overlook next to a 15-rebound headline, but they show why this is not simply a contest of who is taller or who scored more in the latest exhibition.
Mark Williams' recovery adds urgency. With the established starter expected to miss several months after shoulder surgery, Phoenix cannot treat its young centers as a luxury project. They may be asked to handle meaningful possessions from the first week of the season. The Suns also need to consider combinations: which big works best with Booker and Green, who helps the second unit keep its passing rhythm, and which player can handle perimeter switches against fast guards.
Ott has signaled that the preseason is a chance to mix lineups rather than announce a permanent hierarchy. That approach makes sense. The sample is tiny, the opponents are experimenting, and teams rarely reveal their full regular-season schemes in October. Maluach's night against Wembanyama should earn him more chances, not a guarantee. He still needs to show he can defend pick-and-roll actions, avoid cheap fouls, set consistent screens and keep his energy high when the first few plays do not go his way.
Phoenix has two exhibitions left, including another meeting with San Antonio on Wednesday, before its October 21 opener. The next useful test is not whether Maluach can repeat exactly 15 rebounds. It is whether he can play 20-plus disciplined minutes while staying connected to teammates at both ends. If he can, the Suns may enter the season with a genuine two-center solution rather than a forced choice between two unfinished options.
Saturday's 102–98 result is not a forecast for the Western Conference standings. It is a snapshot of how Phoenix might navigate a season with an injured starting center and a changing supporting cast. Kennard gave the offense shooting and movement, Green supplied penetration and a manageable turnover trend, and Ighodaro remained a credible alternative at the five.
But Maluach created the most interesting development. A 20-year-old who barely played as a rookie handled meaningful possessions against Wembanyama and owned the glass. The lapses were visible, which is precisely why the test mattered. Phoenix does not need him to win every matchup in October. It needs his best plays to become repeatable habits by the time the games count.
