Maalik Benjamin Wayns (born May 2, 1991) is an American-Belarusian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former professional player. He played high school basketball for

Roman Catholic High School The Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia is a four-year private, catholic high school for boys in Philadelphia. It was founded by Thomas E. Cahill in 1890 as the first free Catholic high school in the nation. The school is located at the ...

in Philadelphia, where he was a ''Parade'' All-American as well as a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

before playing college basketball for

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

under coach Jay Wright. He is the current Program Director and head coach of boys' basketball at Skyline Prep High School in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Wayns was the head coach of the boys' basketball team at Camden High School in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

from 2022-2025.

Early life

Wayns was born on May 2, 1991, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

to Verland and Deborah Wayns. Maalik has one sibling named V. J. Wayns.

High school career

Wayns was a member of

's varsity basketball team. As a Junior, he averaged 22.4 points, 5.1 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 steals. Wayns was also a two-time MVP in the Philadelphia Catholic League and also first team all-city and all-state in Pennsylvania. As a Senior, Wayns averaged 19.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He was named a third-team ''Parade'' All-American and

at the end of the year.

College career

Freshman

Wayns chose to attend

to play under coach Jay Wright. On November 16, 2009, Wayns scored 16 points in 18 minutes to help Villanova defeat the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He was named

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

All-Rookie Team and won the Big East Rookie of the Week three times. Wayns finished with 6.8 points and 1.3 assists.

Sophomore

Wayns scored 15 points and 6 assists against

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

on November 12, 2010. He had a career night against the

Marist Red Foxes The Red Foxes are the athletic teams of Marist University. The Marist Red Foxes compete in NCAA Division I athletics as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) the only exception being football, a member of the Pioneer Football L ...

on November 16, 2010, as he scored 17 points to go with 4 assists and 7 rebounds and 1 steal as 'Nova won 84–47. He recorded his first double-double against

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

on November 17, 2010, scoring 12 points and dishing 12 assists. He had a career-high 19 points against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

on November 24, 2010, along with 6 rebounds as Villanova won 82–70.

Junior

As a junior in 2011–12, Wayns earned second-team All-Big East honors after averaging 17.6 points per game.

Professional career

2012–13 season

After going undrafted in the 2012 NBA draft, Wayns joined the Orlando Magic for the Orlando Summer League and the Golden State Warriors for the Las Vegas Summer League. On July 31, 2012, he signed with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. On January 6, 2013, he was waived by the 76ers but was re-signed to a 10-day contract two days later. He was not re-signed when that contract expired. On January 21, 2013, he was acquired by the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won f ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. On March 9, 2013, Wayns signed a 10-day contract with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. On March 19, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Clippers, and on March 29, he signed with the Clippers for the remainder of the season.

2013–14 season

In July 2013, Wayns joined the Clippers for the 2013 NBA Summer League and later joined the team for training camp, where he made the final roster on a non-guaranteed contract for the 2013–14 season. On January 5, 2014, he was waived by the Clippers, and three days later, he signed another 10-day contract with the Clippers. On January 16, he was waived by the Clippers. On February 17, 2014, he was reacquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

2014–15 season

After playing three games for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

during the 2014 NBA Summer League, Wayns signed a one-year deal with Žalgiris Kaunas of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

on July 30, 2014. On October 13, 2014, he parted ways with Žalgiris due to injury before appearing in a game for them. On January 12, 2015, Wayns' returning player rights were traded by Rio Grande Valley to the

Delaware 87ers Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state' ...

in exchange for the returning player rights to Hamady N'Diaye. On February 3, 2015, he officially joined the 87ers. On April 6, 2015, after the end of the 2014–15 D-League season, Wayns signed with Atenienses de Manatí of Puerto Rico for the rest of the 2015 BSN season.

2015–16 season

On August 14, 2015, Wayns signed with

Pallacanestro Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...

of the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

for the 2015–16 season.

2016–17 season

On August 1, 2016, Wayns signed with

Enisey Krasnoyarsk BC Yenisey () is a Russian professional basketball team from the city of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Since the 2011–12 season, Enisey plays in the VTB United League. The team colors are blue and white. Its full name is Basketball Club Enisey Krasnoy ...

of Russia for the 2016–17 season. On November 24, 2016, Wayns signed with the Israeli team Maccabi Rishon LeZion.

2017–18 season

On August 28, 2017, Wayns signed with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. On October 14, 2017, he was waived by the Mavericks. On October 25, 2017, he signed with Spanish club

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two team ...

for the rest of the

2017–18 ACB season The 2017–18 Liga ACB, ACB season, also known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, was the 35th season of the Spanish basketball league. It started on 29 September 2017 with the first round of the regular season and ended on 19 June 2018 with ...

2019–20 season

On August 27, 2019, he has signed with Tsmoki-Minsk of

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

. On February 2, 2020, Wayns signed with

Mahram Tehran BC Mahram Tehran Basketball Club is an Iranian professional basketball club based in Tehran, Iran. They compete in the Iranian Basketball Super League. Mahram is considered one of the giants of Iranian Basketball and were Champions of Asia in 2009 ...

of the

Iranian Basketball Super League The Iranian Basketball Super League (IBSL) is a professional men's basketball league in Iran. It was founded in 1998. The current champions is Shahrdari Gorgan. The league follows the promotion and relegation system in which the worst two teams ...

National team career

Wayns became a naturalized citizen of Belarus in 2016.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT)

In the summer of 2017, Wayns competed in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

for Team FOE, a

based team coached by

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

forwards Markieff and

Marcus Morris Marcus Thomas Morris Sr. (born September 2, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks befor ...

. In two games, Wayns averaged 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists as Team FOE advanced to the Super 16 Round in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. FOE ended up losing 72–67 in the Super 16 against Boeheim's Army, a team composed of

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

basketball alum. Wayns also competed for FOE in 2016 as well. In three games that summer, he averaged 18.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Coaching career

As of the 2021–22 season, Wayns serves on the Student Athlete Development staff for the Villanova Men's Basketball team. In his role, Wayns focuses on off-court development of student-athletes. On November 17, 2022, Wayns was hired as the new head coach of Camden High School's boys basketball team, succeeding

Rick Brunson Eric Daniel Brunson (born June 14, 1972) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played nine seasons in the NBA and has als ...

, who departed to join the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

coaching staff. On May 13, 2025, Wayns announced on social media he was leaving Camden High School, for new head coaching opportunity. On May 22, 2025, Maalik Wayns was announced as the next Program Director and Head Coach of the national basketball team at Skyline Prep High School in Arizona.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 1 , , 7.9 , , .264 , , .200 , , .867 , , .2 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 6 , , 0 , , 6.2 , , .438 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , .3 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .0 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 2 , , 0 , , 4.5 , , .500 , , – , , – , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 29 , , 1 , , 7.3 , , .300 , , .226 , , .895 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.7

References

External links

Villanova bioEurobasket.com profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wayns, Maalik 1991 births Living people American emigrants to Belarus American expatriate basketball people in Iran American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia BC Enisey players Belarusian men's basketball players Belarusian people of American descent Delaware 87ers players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Clippers players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Naturalized citizens of Belarus Pallacanestro Varese players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Mahram Tehran BC players Undrafted NBA players Universo Treviso Basket players Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players Naturalised basketball players Iranian Basketball Super League players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Belarusian sportsmen