Khaman Maluach will start in the middle for the Suns when they open the regular season Wednesday, giving the 2025 first-round pick the job Jordan Ott chose over Oso Ighodaro after weeks of competition in training camp and the preseason.
That matters now because Mark Williams is expected to miss a significant portion of the season after shoulder surgery, leaving the Suns to open with a center rotation that already had to be settled before the first tip. Maluach, the 10th overall pick in the 2025 draft, is not being eased in. He is being asked to start immediately.
Ott had a real choice. Ighodaro played well in three preseason outings and had just signed a new three-year extension before the regular season tipped off, which made him a logical candidate to keep the job. Instead, the Suns went with Maluach for the opener, a decision that signals where the staff thinks the balance of size, defense and immediate fit lies right now.
The decision also says something about how little margin the Suns have at the position. Williams’ absence creates the opening, but it does not guarantee one player will hold it for long, and Ott’s choice on Wednesday shows Maluach is the one trusted to begin the season with it. Ighodaro remains in the picture, but for this first game, the starting spot belongs to Maluach.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference, the Trail Blazers opened against Phoenix with Damian Lillard and Ja Morant in the backcourt, while Jrue Holiday came off the bench. The Lakers started Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle against Golden State, with Quentin Grimes in a reserve role. For the Suns, though, the headline is simpler: the opener starts with Maluach in the middle, and the job now has to be held, not just won.
