According to a report Thursday morning many NBA teams have taken Thon Maker off of their draft board entirely due to fears that he may actually be older than 19.
Several teams have entirely ruled Thon Maker out of the first round due to his age. Multiple sources believe Maker to be 21-23, not 19.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 23, 2016
Thon Maker is a native of the Sudan in Africa and moved to Australia as a refugee from the Civil War in his home country of Australia (or so we think). He blew up on Youtube a few years ago for being a 7’1″ 16-year-old (or so we think) that had a silky smooth jump shot and great athleticism and quickness and ball handling ability for a player of his size at any age.
Maker played at a prep school in Canada and struggled a bit last season but because he was technically five years out of middle school, he was able to enter the 2016 NBA Draft.
Thon Maker was by far the biggest mystery in the draft with his incredible size and talent, but his bizarre story and sudden regression made him either the biggest boom or bust prospect in the middle of the first round of the draft. Now that some teams are questioning his birth records and actual age the situation becomes even more confusing and bizarre. If Maker really is 21 to 23 he no longer seems as desirable as a prospect and a whole new Pandora’s box opens of how that could affect his life and whether legal issues will arise.
It will be very interesting to see where he is drafted tonight.
