Thon Maker is at least 23 years old

[rallydurham]

Where there smoke there's coke.

Kid isn't 19 i think that's pretty obvious at this point. His handlers did a great job getting him draft eligible before he could be exposed in any type of college or pro setting.

He needs to bank those checks because even guys like Noah Vonleh with real upside potential can bust in the nba.

I haven't seen a more likely bust in the lottery since.... no i can't think of any.. I mean Sene, Kendrick Brown, Hilton armstrong? All these type of guys were significantly better prospects

I mean we all roll our eyes when a team takes a guy like Austin Rivers. But this one seemed criminal. Granted there wasn't much to choose from in this draft but why not take a flyer on a high side guy like Valentine or Levert instead of a guy who doesn't look like he'll ever be able to hold down a roster spot let alone crack a rotation...

[notsla refar]

If he turns out to be a good player, I don't think Milwaukee will really care one way or another.

[rallydurham]

Well that's kinda the point. He's not a good player.

The entire reason you draft a project is that you see his raw size/athleticism and you hope his skills develop.

Well if he's already 23 there's really no point. He's unlikely to ever justify being drafted, let alone a lottery pick.

[Aussiepiston1]

I'm from Sydney, Australia and I used to play Basketball in this Gym where all the top players come to play pick up ( even Jamie Fox and Chris Brown played with Us ) and I could have sworn I've seen Thon play there a few years back which didn't make sense to me because that would have made him a lot younger than what I thought He was back then.

[The Moose]

Regardless of his age, its become undeniable that he finished Years 9,10,11 and 12 in Perth. Sat out for a year, and rejoined HS in USA in Year 8. Forgetting his age, isn't that illegal in itself

[nbafan341]

If thon somehow posts kevin garnet numbers of 26 ppg/ 14 reb/ 5 ast/ 3 blk in his rookie season then that's the only way his age become irrelevant.

[Dr Aki]

I'm from Sydney, Australia and I used to play Basketball in this Gym where all the top players come to play pick up ( even Jamie Fox and Chris Brown played with Us ) and I could have sworn I've seen Thon play there a few years back which didn't make sense to me because that would have made him a lot younger than what I thought He was back then.

that's nice but...

pics or it didn't happen

[magicfan4life05]

Worked out pretty well for Ibaka. Maker should be in his prime in a couple of years anyways, bucks can probably find a sucker to take him off their hands once they have to pay him more than rookie salary.

Weird thing is when they drafted Yi there were stories he falsified his age too.

are there rumors about Ibaka?

[richboy]

At least there's actual evidence for Maker being older than he says he is. With Ibaka and Biyombo I've yet to see any proof; it annoys me when people speak of them being older as if it was a fact.

In any situation your not going to have much proof. Especially some of these extremely poor nations. Not sure why it be annoying. American society is obsessed with age and they play the game. They understand the reality. Younger equal better. It is common practice even for those not playing in the NBA to undervalue there age. I went to school with refugees in HS that obviously were well in there twenties. There is no real reason not to lie.


In this situation it doesn't really matter to me. We are talking about players who usually picked up a ball late compared to others. They still have upside because they can develop there skills. We aren't talking about 24 year olds who been playing since 5 years old. They can still give you a good 6 or 7 years. Unless you drafted Thon thinking he going to be KG his age isn't a big deal for me. As long as he isn't in his late 20s.

[willywazza]

Man, if this is true then it is really shady.

[Prez]

The hopes of him becoming a core piece like Giannis/Jabari/Middleton are pretty much zero now. It's disappointing from the point of view that he's not going to live up to the 10th pick, but he's still got everything you need to be a solid role player. Just because he's likely 22-23 instead of 19 doesn't mean he isn't still 7'1" with a 7'3" wingspan with some of the best athletic measurements in combine history, solid range and defensive instincts. He's not going to be a star but if he can be a solid defensive hybrid 4/5 who can catch the easy lobs Giannis and Jabari will get him, and space the floor out to midrange and possibly 3PT...I'm okay with it. Unique big to have coming off your bench.

[ingvald]

If he turns out to be a good player, I don't think Milwaukee will really care one way or another.

If he keeps playing against Canadian HS kids, he may just make the Hall of Fame.

[The Moose]

I'm from Sydney, Australia and I used to play Basketball in this Gym where all the top players come to play pick up ( even Jamie Fox and Chris Brown played with Us ) and I could have sworn I've seen Thon play there a few years back which didn't make sense to me because that would have made him a lot younger than what I thought He was back then.

that's nice but...

pics or it didn't happen

He's probably talking about KGV centre in the city of Sydney, Thon played pick up there quite a bit

[Aussiepiston1]

I'm from Sydney, Australia and I used to play Basketball in this Gym where all the top players come to play pick up ( even Jamie Fox and Chris Brown played with Us ) and I could have sworn I've seen Thon play there a few years back which didn't make sense to me because that would have made him a lot younger than what I thought He was back then.

that's nice but...

pics or it didn't happen

Yeah because I stood around taking pictures of people incase they make the NBA one day hahaha I'm not trying to accuse him of anything just felt weird to me seeing him getting drafted and his age when I could have sworn I'd seen him play bball with us a few years ago thinking He was older.
If I really could be bothered I could go ask these Sudanese boys I know who still play and know him LOL but I doubt they'd sell him out hahahaha

[Plutonashfan]

It is one thing to just lie about your age to NBA (plenty of players do it).

But it is completely different matter to go to Grade 8 and do 5-6 years of high school all over again just to scam your way into the league. That's huge, how can you trust this guy after something like that? Tells me he is not right in his head. If these reports are true I hope Silver bans this scumbag and his agent.

This dude went to high school twice think about this!

[Hindenburg]

Reddit guys doing more investigative work

Looks like he really did graduate high school in 2010.

During my dig, I found that Aranmore Catholic College posts a weekly newsletter that were archived along with the website. One of the features of this newsletter is to congratulate students on their Birthday. After scouring through a few of the newsletters, I was able to find one that lists Thon Maker.

The February 11th 2009 Newsletter congratulates a Year 11 Thon Maker on his birthday. This lines up with the time table already put forward on him graduating in the 2010 year. The links below are the web archive (archived September 2009) and a screen capture on rehosted on imgur.

[Hindenburg]

lmao, this just keeps getting better

Year 10 Fairytales at Kindy - Term One, 2008

Aranmore Catholic College Year 10 Drama students performed their own version of twisted fairytales to the Aranmore Kindergarten students at the end of Term One. Students worked hard on writing their own scripts for their pieces, overcoming challenging group dynamics which every good Drama student must experience!

Students put on an energetic show for their delighted audience and have expressed a keen desire to return. Favourites characters for the audience included The Wolf, played by Jacob Taylor and The Troll, played by Thon Maker.

http://web.archive.org/web/20080928151628/http://web2.aranmore.wa.edu.au/OurNews/News.asp

[Torres]

you'd think there's some clause in rookie contracts which states you can't lie about your personal info lol

[Plutonashfan]

Everywhere? And is there a definitive source that every Aussie yearbook is only for 1 class? Not a single school does otherwise? This is just too shady.

imagine if every year, this particular high school (years 7-12) had a yearbook showing upwards of 700 kids

having one just for the graduating class is common sense

I know high schools that do that.

My High high school did it. Underclassmen had B/W photos though to reduce cost.

[Lenear1030]

Aw man... This doesn't look good. The evidence keeps coming