Mayan Keer Kiir (born 1 January 1998) is a South Sudanese-American professional

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 ...

player who last played for the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks play their home games at Westchester County Center in White Plains, N ...

of the

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

Early life and career

Kiir was born in South Sudan but fled the country when he was four, along with his mother and siblings, leaving his father behind who was fighting in the

Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...

. The family moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, where Kiir started playing for the development team Longhorns where he was discovered by coach Manny Berberi. He then earned a scholarship to play high school basketball for Victory Rock Prep in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He led his team in scoring and rebounding in his senior season.

College career

Kiir played for

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in his first college season, for

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

in his second and after a transfer year he played for

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

. He was also on the roster for

Central Baptist College Central Baptist College (CBC) is a private Baptist college in Conway, Arkansas. CBC was founded in 1952 as Conway Baptist College, using the former campus of Central College, defunct since 1947. It awards both associate and bachelor's degrees. ...

during the 2021–22 season and played his last game on January 13, 2022.

Professional career

On April 9, 2022, Kiir made his professional debut with

Cobra Sport Cobra Sports Club, commonly known as Cobra Sport, are a South Sudanese basketball team based in Juba, South Sudan. The team was established in 2017 and plays in the Central Equatoria State Basketball Association (CESBA). Cobra has won three nation ...

in the

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is the premier men's basketball league in Africa. Founded in 2019, the league was established and is co-organized by NBA Africa and the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Each season typically r ...

(BAL). He had a double-double of 18 points and 22 rebounds in a loss to

Zamalek Zamalek ( , ''al zamalek'') is a ''qism'' (ward) within the West District (''hayy gharb'') in the Western Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is an affluent district on a man-made island which is geologically a part of the west bank of the Nile River, wit ...

, setting a league record for most rebounds in a game. Kiir averaged 18.8 points and a league-leading 11.2 rebounds in five games in the Nile Conference, as Cobra finished in the fifth place.

Westchester Knicks (2022)

On October 24, 2022, Kiir joined the

training camp roster. He was picked by the Knicks in the

2022 NBA G League draft The 2022 NBA G League draft was the 22nd draft of the NBA G League. It was held on October 22, 2022. Sam Merrill was selected by the Cleveland Charge as the first overall pick. Key Draft First round Second round Third round Refer ...

with the 15th overall pick, becoming the first BAL player to be selected in an NBA G League draft. However, he was waived on December 29.

Personal

Kiir is the cousin of

Mangok Mathiang Mangok Mathiang (born 8 October 1992) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Daegu KOGAS Pegasus of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He played college basketball for the University of Louisville. Early life and ...

, a professional basketball player who has played for the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

(NBA) team

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

BAL career statistics

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2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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, 5 , , 5 , , 29.4 , , .474 , , .278 , , .586 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 11.2* , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .8 , , 18.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , 5 , , 29.4 , , .474 , , .278 , , .586 , , 11.2 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .8 , , 18.8

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiir, Mayan 1998 births Living people American men's basketball players Australian emigrants to the United States Basketball players from Melbourne Cobra Sport players LSU Tigers men's basketball players New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball players Power forwards South Florida Bulls men's basketball players South Sudanese emigrants to Australia South Sudanese emigrants to the United States South Sudanese men's basketball players Westchester Knicks players 21st-century American sportsmen