Thon Marial Maker (born 25 February 1997) is a South Sudanese-Australian^[2] professional basketball player for Al Riyadi Club Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League (LBL). He attended high school at Orangeville District Secondary School and played basketball for Canada's Athlete Institute. He was picked 10th overall in the 2016 NBA draft, and played for three different NBA teams between 2016 and 2021.

Quick Facts No. 2 – Al Riyadi Club Beirut, Position ...

Thon Maker

Maker with the Detroit Pistons in 2019
No. 2 – Al Riyadi Club Beirut
Position	Center / Power forward
League	LBL
Personal information
Born	(1997-02-25) 25 February 1997 (age 27) Wau, Sudan (now South Sudan)
Nationality	South Sudanese / Australian[1]
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school	Carlisle School (Martinsville, Virginia) Athlete Institute Prep/Orangeville Prep (Orangeville, Ontario)
NBA draft	2016: 1st round, 10th overall pick
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Playing career	2016–present
Career history
2016–2019	Milwaukee Bucks
2019–2020	Detroit Pistons
2020–2021	Cleveland Cavaliers
2021	Hapoel Jerusalem
2022	Long Island Nets
2022–2024	Fujian Sturgeons
2024–Present	Al Riyadi Beirut
Career highlights and awards
Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year (2014)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing  Australia FIBA Asia Cup 2022-2023 Jakarta

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Maker was born in Wau,^[3] a city located in what is now South Sudan. His uncle, a local administrator, arranged for Maker, his younger brother, Matur, and his aunt to escape the civil war to Uganda. From there, they were accepted as refugees by Australia; they then moved to Perth, Western Australia when Maker was five years of age^[4] and the family eventually settled down.^[5]

When he was 14, Maker was discovered playing soccer in the Perth suburb of Mirrabooka, by Edward Smith, an Australian of African-American heritage who helped children from migrant backgrounds receive opportunities they otherwise would not get.^[6] Smith had previously helped fellow South Sudanese immigrants Ater Majok and Mathiang Muo, now both professional basketball players. Smith offered his aunt to feed, clothe and educate Maker in Sydney where Maker played basketball for the St. George Basketball Association during 2011. Just before the team's playoffs, Maker and Smith left to attend a talent camp in Texas.^[5]

Once in the United States, Maker attended two schools in Louisiana, including Metairie Park Country Day School,^[7] before finally settling down at Carlisle School in Martinsville, Virginia.^[5] During his freshman and sophomore years playing for Carlisle's varsity team, Maker averaged 22.2 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 4.5 blocks over a total of 53 games.^[8] As a sophomore, he earned 2013–14 Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year honours after leading Carlisle to a state championship.^[9][10]

On 5 September 2014, Maker and his brother enrolled at the Athlete Institute in Mono, Ontario where Edward Smith was already an assistant coach. In conjunction with the Athlete Institute, the brothers enrolled at Orangeville District Secondary School in the nearby town of Orangeville.^[11] On 29 December 2014, Maker scored 16 points and 9 rebounds in a 79–75 win over Dennis Smith Jr. and Trinity Christian School.^[12] On 30 December 2014, Maker scored 24 points and 11 rebounds as his team loss to Harry Giles and Wesleyan Christian Academy in the championship game of the High School OT Holiday Invitational tournament.^[13]

On 18 February 2015, Maker announced his decision to reclassify into the 2015 class, which would have made 2014–15 his final year of high school.^[14][15] He later participated in the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon.^[16][17] Playing alongside fellow Australian Ben Simmons in the April 11 game, Maker recorded 10 rebounds, two points and one block as the World Team defeated Team USA, 103–101.^[18]

On 18 June 2015, Maker announced his decision to remain in the Class of 2016, and returned to Orangeville Prep for the 2015–16 season. Maker noted how stressful it was working toward entering the Class of 2015, with the issue centred on his workload and the pressure with "trying to get it all done at once".^[19] He was being recruited by Arizona State, Florida State, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Notre Dame, St. John's and UNLV.^[20] On 21 June 2015, Maker was named MVP at the National Basketball Player's Association Top 100 camp.^[21]

On 3 April 2016, Maker declared his intentions to enter the 2016 NBA draft, a decision that required a ruling from the NBA to determine his eligibility.^[22] To skip a year of college, Maker had to convince the NBA he graduated from Orangeville Prep in 2015. He successfully did so, proving he graduated from high school in June 2015^[9] but elected to stay for a postgraduate year, fulfilling both the minimum age and one year removed requirements to the NBA's satisfaction. With a successful ruling, Maker became just the second player in more than a decade to make the leap from high school in North America straight to the draft^[23] and the first to play in the NBA since the league introduced the "one-and-done" rule for high school students in 2005.^[24][25]

Coming out of high school, Maker was considered a five-star recruit by most basketball recruiting services.^[26][27][28]

In April 2015, Maker declared his intentions to play for the Australian national team despite heavy interest from Basketball Canada—the organisation had considered Maker and his younger brother Matur as potential Canadian players.^[63] On 29 June 2018, he made his international debut for Australia in a FIBA World Cup qualifier against Japan.^[64] Maker was involved in the Philippines–Australia basketball brawl during the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualification. As a result, he was suspended for three games.^[65]

Maker is an Australian and South Sudanese citizen.^[66]

Maker's parents, who descend from the Dinka people, still live in South Sudan^[5] and are also both very tall; his father stands 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) and his mother stands 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in).^[67] His brother, Matur, attempted to enter the 2018 NBA draft in a manner similar to Thon before deciding to play internationally instead.^[68] Another brother, Maker Maker, plays soccer for Dandenong Thunder SC, after previously playing in Spain and Lithuania, as well as playing for South Melbourne FC's under-20 team.^[69] He has a cousin, Makur, who plays basketball in the NBA G League, after having previously played for Howard University.^[70] Another cousin, Aliir Aliir, plays in the Australian Football League for Port Adelaide.^[71] In March 2018, Maker confirmed he supported the Sydney Swans due to Aliir playing for them at the time, despite previously supporting the two West Australian teams.^[72]

There are conspiracy theories that Maker is actually four years older than what is on his official passport, that Maker had actually graduated from Aranmore Catholic College, a high school in Perth, Australia, back in 2010 before enrolling again in high school in Canada, and that Edward Smith had a hand in forging Maker's official paperwork.^[73][74]