Thon Maker facts for kids
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Maker with the Detroit Pistons in 2019
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| No. 2 – Rio Grande Valley Vipers | ||||||||||||||
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| Center / power forward | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 February 1997 Wau, Sudan (now South Sudan) |
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| Nationality | South Sudanese / Australian | |||||||||||||
| High school |
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| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 221 lb (100 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2016–present | |||||||||||||
| League | NBA G League | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Milwaukee Bucks | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Detroit Pistons | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Cleveland Cavaliers | |||||||||||||
| 2021 | Hapoel Jerusalem | |||||||||||||
| 2022 | Long Island Nets | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Fujian Sturgeons | |||||||||||||
| 2024 | Al Riyadi Beirut | |||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Rio Grande Valley Vipers | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Thon Marial Maker (born 25 February 1997) is a professional basketball player from South Sudan and Australia. He currently plays for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA G League. Thon went to high school at Orangeville District Secondary School and played basketball for Canada's Athlete Institute. He was chosen as the 10th player overall in the 2016 NBA draft. He played for three different NBA teams between 2016 and 2021.
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Thon Maker's Early Life and Journey
Thon Maker was born in Wau, a city in what is now South Sudan. When he was young, his uncle helped him, his younger brother Matur, and his aunt leave their home country. They were escaping a difficult civil war. They first went to Uganda and then were welcomed as refugees in Australia.
When Thon was five years old, his family moved to Perth, Western Australia. Later, they settled there.
How Thon Maker Started Playing Basketball
When Thon was 14, he was playing soccer in Perth. A man named Edward Smith noticed him. Edward Smith helped children from other countries get chances they might not usually have. He had helped other South Sudanese players become professionals before.
Edward Smith offered to help Thon with food, clothes, and school in Sydney. Thon played basketball for the St. George Basketball Association in 2011. Just before his team's playoffs, Thon and Smith went to a special basketball camp in Texas.
Thon Maker's High School Basketball Career
Once in the United States, Thon Maker went to two schools in Louisiana. He then settled at Carlisle School in Martinsville, Virginia. In his first two years playing for Carlisle's main team, Thon was amazing. He scored about 22 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked 4.5 shots per game.
As a sophomore, he won the 2013–14 Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year award. He led Carlisle to win a state championship.
Playing in Canada
On September 5, 2014, Thon and his brother joined the Athlete Institute in Mono, Ontario, Canada. Edward Smith was already a coach there. The brothers also went to Orangeville District Secondary School in Orangeville.
On December 29, 2014, Thon scored 16 points and had 9 rebounds in a win against Trinity Christian School. The next day, he scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds in a championship game, but his team lost.
Deciding on the NBA Draft
On February 18, 2015, Thon said he would try to finish high school a year early. This would have made 2014–15 his last year. He also played in the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon. He played with another Australian player, Ben Simmons. Thon got 10 rebounds and helped his team win.
However, on June 18, 2015, Thon decided to stay in the Class of 2016. He went back to Orangeville Prep for another season. He said it was too much stress to try and finish early. Many colleges wanted him to play for them, like Arizona State and Kentucky. On June 21, 2015, Thon was named MVP at a top basketball camp.
On April 3, 2016, Thon announced he wanted to join the 2016 NBA draft. This was a big decision because he would skip college. The NBA had to decide if he was allowed to join. Thon proved he graduated high school in June 2015 but chose to stay for an extra year. This meant he met the NBA's rules for age and time since high school.
Thon became one of the first players in over a decade to go straight from high school in North America to the NBA draft. Before the draft, many experts thought Thon was a top player.
Thon Maker's Professional Basketball Journey
Joining the NBA Draft
Thon Maker went to the 2016 NBA Draft Combine. This is where players show off their skills to NBA teams. He was measured as one of the tallest players. He also jumped higher than any other player over 6 feet 11 inches in the combine's history.
Before the draft, some teams worried about Thon's age. They thought he might be older than 19. But despite these worries, the Milwaukee Bucks chose him as the 10th player in the 2016 draft. He was the first high school player picked in the first round since 2005.
Playing for the Milwaukee Bucks (2016–2019)
During the summer of 2016, Thon played well for the Bucks in the 2016 NBA Summer League. He scored about 14 points and got almost 10 rebounds per game. He was even named to the All-NBA Summer League Second Team. On July 30, 2016, he signed his first contract with the Bucks.
Thon played his first NBA game on October 30, 2016. On January 21, 2017, he started his first game for the Bucks. He scored 12 points in a game against the Utah Jazz on February 1, 2017. On March 31, 2017, he had his best game yet, scoring 23 points in a win against the Detroit Pistons.
In the 2017–18 season, Thon continued to play well. He scored 16 points in games against the Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors. In the playoffs, he helped the Bucks win games against the Boston Celtics by blocking many shots.
By early 2019, Thon's role on the team changed with a new coach. He asked to be traded to another team.
Playing for the Detroit Pistons (2019–2020)
On February 7, 2019, Thon Maker joined the Detroit Pistons as part of a trade. On February 22, he made a game-winning shot with only 16 seconds left to help the Pistons beat the Atlanta Hawks. In November 2020, the Pistons decided not to keep him, and he became a free agent.
Playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2020–2021)
On November 30, 2020, Thon signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played eight games for them in the 2020–21 season, scoring 30 points and getting 18 rebounds. He left the team in January 2021.
Playing Overseas and in the G League
After his time in the NBA, Thon Maker played for teams in other countries and in the NBA G League.
- In August 2021, he signed with Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel.
- In January 2022, he joined the Long Island Nets in the NBA G League.
- In July 2022, he signed with the Fujian Sturgeons in China.
- In April 2024, he joined Al Riyadi Club Beirut in Lebanon. He helped them win their first WASL championship, scoring 35 points and getting 15 rebounds in the final. Thon was named the WASL MVP. In June, Al Riyadi also won the Basketball Champions League Asia, making them champions of Asia. Thon was named one of the top five players in that tournament.
- In October 2024, Thon signed with the Houston Rockets but was later waived. He then joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA G League.
Thon Maker's National Team Career
In April 2015, Thon Maker said he wanted to play for the Australian national team. This was even though Canada wanted him and his brother Matur to play for them.
On June 29, 2018, he played his first international game for Australia against Japan. Thon was involved in an incident during a game against the Philippines in 2019. Because of this, he was not allowed to play for three games.
Thon Maker's Family and Personal Life
Thon Maker is a citizen of both Australia and South Sudan.
His parents are from the Dinka people and are also very tall. His father is about 6 feet 8 inches tall, and his mother is about 6 feet 3 inches tall.
Thon has several brothers and cousins who are also athletes:
- His brother, Matur, also tried to join the NBA draft.
- Another brother, Maker Maker, plays soccer.
- His cousin, Makur, plays basketball in the NBA G League.
- Another cousin, Aliir Aliir, plays Australian Rules Football for Port Adelaide. Thon supports the Sydney Swans team because Aliir used to play for them.
Images for kids
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Thon Maker in 2016
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