How old is Thon Maker?
After the Australian center found a loophole in the NBA draft process and catapulated up draft boards, the next biggest question became simple—how old is the guy? The 7’1″, 216-pound center apparenlty came off more than a few draft boards because NBA teams couldn’t find the information, according to Sports Illustrated‘s Jake Fischer:
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
Maker wound up going 10th to the Milwaukee Bucks and yet he’s still swatting away questions about his age like he will guards thinking they can cut into his paint. The Boston Globe‘s Gary Washburn captured Maker’s reaction to all of this:
It did get to me in terms of me hearing about it, but it didn’t get to me personally because if it were true, I’d probably be like sideways about it, but it’s not true, so I’m comfortable. I’m not angry or anything. I’ve got to learn what I can say and what I can’t say now.
Funnily enough, this will chase Maker around for a long time, provided his game—a project player with incredible height who can stretch the floor with a deep shot—keeps him in the NBA.
So far it has made for quite a few funny comments on social media:
Thon Maker says he’s a modern version of KG, which I can see since they’re just about the same age
— Aaron West (@ayyy_west) June 29, 2016
Flags were raised about about Thon Maker’s real age when he showed a reporter his ID and it was written in hieroglyphics. #NBADraft
— Wery Goelfel (@WaryGoelfel) June 23, 2016
Because Thon Maker is just a better prospect than Bismack even at 65 years of age. So he changed his identity completely.
— Jason Lin (@JaylenDunoe) June 29, 2016
Funny moments aside, the Bucks have a great prospect on their hands who fits the ever-evolving sport perfectly. Maker won’t steal the job from Greg Monroe right away, but a lineup already boasting Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker just got a whole lot scarier.
