Mayan Keer Kiir (born 1 January 1998) is a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League.

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 family moved to Melbourne, 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. He led his team in scoring and rebounding in his senior season.

College career

Kiir played for

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

in his first college season, for

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

in his second and after a transfer year he played for New Mexico State. He was also on the roster for Central Baptist College 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 natio ...

in the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He had a double-double of 18 points and 22 rebounds in a loss to Zamalek, 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 Westchester Knicks 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 Refere ...

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, a professional basketball player who has played for the National Basketball Association (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 league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

BAL career statistics

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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