One of the biggest wildcards in tonight’s NBA Draft is 19-year-old Thon Maker, who was able to skip college by spending an extra year at his high school in Toronto. However, some teams have already ruled him out as a first-round pick as they believe he may be older than what he actually says he is.
Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated reported on Thursday that some teams believe Maker may have been born before 1997, like his birth certificate says. Teams believe that he may actually be anywhere between 21 and 23 years old.
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 has been on many teams’ radars since an impressive highlight reel dropped three years ago. At 7-foot-1 with an even longer wingspan, he could go anywhere from the top 20 to the early second round tonight.
However, if reports of his age being false turn out to be true, it could be a very interesting couple of weeks for Maker and whoever may draft him. He has lived all over the world, being born in Sudan February 25, 1997 — according to his paperwork — and living in Australia and the United States before eventually landing in Canada.
You can watch the NBA Draft live at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.
