Nets Draft Target Shows Off Improved 3-Point Shot Ahead of 2025 NBA Draft

Khaman Maluach, a potential Nets draft target, is turning heads with his improved shooting range ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.

Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Houston Cougars guard Milos Uzan (7) dribbles the ball against Duke Blue Devils center Khaman Maluach (9) during the first half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

If next week's draft lottery doesn't garner the Brooklyn Nets a top-six selection, the franchise could look to bolster its frontcourt by taking the best available player. Depending on how the big board shakes out, that could be either Maryland's Derik Queen or Duke's Khaman Maluach, albeit each player serves a different purpose.

For analysis on Queen's fit in Brooklyn, click here. Otherwise, Maluach is the primary focus for this article—and for good reason.

Via Jonathan Givony and Draft Express on X, a video of a Maluach workout emerged. In the two-minute video, the 7-foot-2 big man makes 14 straight 3-pointers while also showing off his seemingly improved handle.

More footage of Duke's Khaman Maluach working out in preparation for the NBA Draft. I think he will surprise people in workouts with how skilled he's getting, in addition to his tremendous physical tools and gigantic personality. pic.twitter.com/Sat5u9reR3

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 7, 2025

In his freshman season with the Blue Devils, Maluach shot just 4-of-16 from deep, but that statistic wasn't very alarming. He's built like a traditional inside center, but this apparently added facet of his game could change his fortunes come draft night.

And it's happened before, ironically enough with another former Duke standout.

Back in 2023, Dereck Lively II was widely anticipated to be a mid-late first-rounder, but once footage was released of him displaying his ability to shoot from range out of nowhere, he catapulted all the way up into the lottery. The Dallas Mavericks took a chance on Lively, and that decision has certainly panned out.

The Nets could see Maluach as the "next Lively," in that regard. The Ringer describes Maluach as a "postmodern rim-protecting titan with all the tools to be the perfect pick-and-roll finisher," and someone who can "get absurdly low in his defensive stance without losing his range of motion or velocity moving backward and laterally." Those are extremely positive traits on their own, but if a true three-point shot is added to his arsenal, Maluach would fit the "modern NBA" perfectly.

Now, Nic Claxton's presence and Day'Ron Sharpe's restricted free agency could become factors that discourage Brooklyn from taking a center in the lottery, but that would abandon the Nets' "best player available" approach. With a roster in dire need of talent, the franchise's front office would be better off adding high-level prospects and figuring out how the pieces of the puzzle fit later.

The NBA Draft lottery is set for May 12 in Chicago.

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