BIO: Maker was born in what is now known as South Sudan on 1 January 1998 with his older brother Thon Maker. In Matur’s early childhood, his uncle, a local administrator, helped the family flee to Uganda amid a civil war in their home country. They then settled in Perth, Western Australia as refugees when Maker was four years of age but continued making occasional visits to South Sudan.

After his brother Thon, at age 13, was discovered by basketball scout Edward Smith the family moved to Sydney, before moving to the United States.

Matur later joined his brother in high school and Smith eventually became their legal guardian.

Maker began playing high school basketball as a freshman at Carlisle School in Martinsville, Virginia, where he joined Thon, a sophomore, in the middle of the season. His guardian Edward Smith, who the brothers lived with in a two-story house, was a assistant coach for the team at the time. According to Smith, Matur’s arrival at Carlisle helped Thon better acclimate to the United States. During his freshman season, Matur was considered one of the best high school players in the country at the small forward position. He helped Carlisle win a state championship and played with Team Loaded VA of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).

For his sophomore year, Maker transferred from Carlisle, with Hopewell Academy in Cary, North Carolina and Orangeville Prep in Orangeville, Ontario as potential destinations. In September 2014, Maker and his brother enrolled at Orangeville Prep, where they played under head coach Larry Blunt and with fellow top prospect Jamal Murray. He was named Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA) second-team all-star.

In 2016/17, Maker moved to The Tech Academy in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where he was coached by his guardian Edward Smith and became teammates with cousin Makur Makur. With the Milwaukee Bucks having selected Thon at the 2016 NBA draft, the transfer allowed Matur to live closer to his brother.

In April 2017, Maker competed in the BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game in Toronto, where he was named most valuable player. In the game, he recorded 25 points and six rebounds, shooting 8-of-11 from the field, playing only 12 minutes. At a adidas Nations event in August, he averaged 26 points and seven rebounds for the Asia Pacific team.

Maker played a postgraduate season of basketball at Mississauga Prep in Mississauga, Ontario for 2017/18. By 2018, he was averaging 25.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.7 steals. On 5 January 2018, Maker declared intentions to bypass college and enter the 2018 NBA draft, attempting to follow a similar path as his brother in 2016. He drew attention from scouts on 11 January, when he notched 45 points, 20 rebounds, two blocks, and three steals in a 95–85 defeat to GTA Prep. However, due to a lack of attention on his name during the 2018 NBA Draft process, he withdrew his name from the 2018 NBA draft on the 11 June international deadline.

FAMILY: Matur’s brother, Thon Maker also played 0 games in the NBL. He is the younger brother of NBA player Thon Maker and the cousin of basketball player Makur Maker.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Matur Maker made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 23 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

After finishing fifth with a 19-17 record and missing the playoffs, Sydney replaced Adam Forde (to Cairns) with first-year NBL head coach Chase Buford. Casper Ware (to Russia), Brad Newley (to Melbourne), Craig Moller (to Germany), Jarrad Weeks (to Tasmania), Didi Louzada (to New Orleans) and Daniel Kickert (retired) departed, while Xavier Cooks, Jarell Martin, Dejan Vasiljevic, Jordan Hunter, Shaun Bruce, Angus Glover, Tom Vodanovich and Jaylin Galloway returned. Jaylen Adams (via Milwaukee), RJ Hunter (via Galatasaray), Biwali Bayles (via Hawaii), Makur Maker (via Howard), Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (via Perth) and Matur Maker (via Denver Summer League) were added.

Maker signed a one-year deal in August to fill Sydney’s final roster spot after spending the previous three years playing in Europe and the NBA G League before appearing for Denver during NBA Summer League. The move also reunited him with cousin Makur Maker, who had joined Sydney as a Next Star. “What excites me most is the opportunity to contend for a Championship in the purple and gold,” said Maker. His preseason was interrupted when a collision at training left him with knee soreness and forced him to miss an NBL Blitz game.

Maker made his NBL debut against Illawarra at Qudos Bank Arena on December 11, where Maker (0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal) played three minutes as Sydney lost 92-84. Glover (16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Cooks (14 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Kings, while Duop Reath (27 points and 7 rebounds) was Illawarra’s best.

Maker (1.9 points across 14 games) remained deep in Sydney’s frontcourt rotation and played only 94 minutes across the season. His best scoring game came against Melbourne at John Cain Arena on December 16, where Maker (6 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block) scored his career-high in eight minutes, but United defeated Sydney 89-47. Cooks (12 points and 6 rebounds) and Bayles (9 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists) led Sydney, while Caleb Agada (21 points and 7 rebounds) was Melbourne’s best.

Maker’s best game of the season came against Brisbane at Qudos Bank Arena on January 23, where Maker (2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 blocks) produced four blocks in 13 minutes as Sydney defeated the Bullets 97-73 and ended a four-game losing streak. Vasiljevic (23 points) and Martin (19 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) led the Kings, while Lamar Patterson (16 points and 8 rebounds) was Brisbane’s best.

After playing eight games through January 30, Maker was an unused substitute against Tasmania on February 4 before Sydney confirmed on February 9 that ongoing knee soreness would keep him out of the next round and be reassessed in two weeks. He did not return to the court until March 13, with the knee problem contributing to the significant time he missed during the middle of the season. When available later in the year Maker remained at the end of Buford’s rotation, with his final appearance coming against Cairns on April 21 before he was an unused substitute in the regular-season finale.

Former NBA champion Ian Clark (13.9 points across 16 games) joined Sydney during February as an injury replacement for Jordan Hunter, who missed the entire season following foot surgery. Adams (20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.2 steals across 24 games) returned from his own early-season ankle injury and was named NBL MVP and selected to the All-NBL First Team. Martin (15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds across 31 games) and Cooks (15.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks across 31 games) formed the Kings’ frontcourt, with Cooks earning All-NBL Second Team honours, while Vasiljevic (12.4 points across 31 games), Makur Maker (7.7 points and 5.3 rebounds across 21 games) and Glover (5.3 points and 3 rebounds across 30 games) provided further depth. Sydney recovered from a 5-7 start to win 13 consecutive games from February 6 through April 14 before finishing third with a 19-9 record.

Maker was an unused substitute when Sydney opened the semifinals against Brian Goorjian’s Illawarra Hawks at WIN Entertainment Centre, where Adams (30 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Clark (16 points) led the Kings to an 89-79 win, while Reath (26 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks) and Antonius Cleveland (21 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led Illawarra.

Maker again did not take the court in game two at Qudos Bank Arena, where Sydney recovered from a 15-point deficit to win 99-87 and complete the sweep behind Adams (29 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists), Martin (23 points and 9 rebounds) and Cooks (16 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks), while Tyler Harvey (21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals) and Reath (20 points and 3 blocks) led Illawarra.

Expansion Tasmania finished fourth with a 17-11 record before upsetting first-placed defending champion Melbourne in three games to reach the Grand Final.

Maker was an unused substitute as the Grand Final opened at Qudos Bank Arena, where Sydney defeated Tasmania 95-78 behind Adams (18 points and 3 assists), Clark (17 points and 2 steals) and Cooks (14 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists), while Jack McVeigh (14 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals) and MiKyle McIntosh (14 points and 4 rebounds) led Tasmania. Adams suffered a low-grade left hamstring strain during the victory and was ruled out for the remainder of the series.

Maker did not play in game two at MyState Bank Arena, where Vasiljevic (20 points and 5 rebounds), Cooks (20 points and 11 rebounds) and Martin (20 points and 10 rebounds) led Sydney without Adams, while Josh Adams (36 points) starred for Tasmania. Vasiljevic hit a long three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to secure a 90-86 victory and give Sydney a 2-0 series lead, while the win was the Kings’ 12th consecutive road victory, the most by any team during a single NBL season.

Dejan Vasiljevic with the 𝘿𝘼𝙂𝙂𝙀𝙍 🗡️
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– 📺 Watch the #NBLFinals Live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/XDIgoHVKo9

— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) May 8, 2022

Maker remained an unused substitute in game three at Qudos Bank Arena, where Cooks (23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks), Martin (22 points and 17 rebounds) and Clark (22 points and 3 assists) led Sydney to a 97-88 victory, while Josh Adams (27 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals), McIntosh (14 points and 8 rebounds) and Josh Magette (12 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 steals) led Tasmania. The victory came in front of an NBL Grand Final record crowd of 16,149 and delivered Sydney its fourth championship and first in 17 years, completing a perfect 5-0 postseason and giving the Kings their 19th victory from their final 21 games. Cooks was named Grand Final MVP after averaging 19 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists across the three games, while at 33 Buford became the fourth-youngest championship-winning coach in NBL history behind Bob Turner, Ken Richardson and Jim Ericksen, two of whom were player-coaches. It was Maker’s first NBL championship.

17 years in the making 💜💛#WeTheKings #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/Wz7uIGjTr6

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) May 14, 2022

Matur Maker played one season in the NBL. He averaged 1.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 14 NBL games.