The Suns still haven’t settled the center job, and Khaman Maluach made sure the conversation isn’t going away anytime soon.
Oso Ighodaro entered camp with the early edge after starting Phoenix’s first two preseason games, but Maluach’s starting turn against the San Antonio Spurs put him right back in the middle of the race. The Suns won that game, and Head Coach Jordan Ott still hasn’t made a final call for opening night.
As Kellan Olson of Arizona Sports reported after talking with Ott before the Spurs game, the coach said there is still no official decision on the starter. Olson also noted that Maluach getting his first start doesn’t change that. It simply keeps him firmly in the mix.
Jordan Ott said there still isn't an official decision yet on who the starting center is despite Oso Ighodaro getting the nod for the first two preseason games.
- Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) October 9, 2026
There are good reasons Ighodaro has the inside track. He’s one of the longer-tenured players on the roster now, so the comfort level with teammates is already there. He’s also learned how to make his length and bounce work against different kinds of opponents in the paint.
Against slower bigs, he can rise above them. Against stronger bodies that try to move him off his spot, he uses his speed to find another path.
And compared with where he was when he started on opening night last season - a game that went poorly - this version of Ighodaro is a clear step forward. For a former second-round pick, that’s a real success story for the organization.
Still, Maluach brings something Ighodaro can’t match. Even when he looks like he’s figuring things out on the fly, he still affects the game. Opponents don’t want to attack him at the rim, and he’s shown enough quickness to recover when beaten off the dribble.
He’s still got work to do as a scorer, but his three-point shot is moving in the right direction fast, and that alone has already separated him from Ighodaro in some areas. Against San Antonio, Maluach also held his own against Victor Wembanyama better than most would expect, and Dillon Brooks came away impressed.
For the Suns, the best part is the problem itself. They have two bigs pushing each other every day for the same spot, and Maluach, at 20 years old, is handling that battle in exactly the way the team wants.
Even with the strong showing against the Spurs, Ighodaro still looks like the safer bet to begin the season against the Portland Trail Blazers. But long term, the path may belong to Maluach, because he’s improving fast enough that he could eventually make the choice unavoidable.
After all the praise Maluach drew at media day, the Suns leaving the door open instead of naming him the starter was the right move.
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