When he heard his name called at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Khaman Maluach couldn't contain his emotions. The tears conceal a painful story of overcoming challenges. The new Phoenix Suns player is only 18 years old, but he's lived a life worthy of a film.

South Sudan is such a poor country that it doesn't even have indoor arenas for sports. Yet its national basketball team qualified to play in the World Cup and, later, the Olympic Games. Royal Ivey, its coach, puts the magnitude of the milestone into context. "Not long ago, we were training on flooded courts outdoors, with eagles soaring above us," he explains. One of the reasons for the feat is the contribution of Khaman Maluach, a young man destined to become an NBA star.