Koa Peat connects with Khaman Maluach for alley-oop, dunks 1st basket in Summer League

The first Phoenix Suns basket of Summer League featured a connection between the team’s last two first-round picks, Koa Peat and Khaman Maluach.

Peat, the 6-foot-8 forward, grabbed an offensive rebound and flipped it to a leaping Maluach for an emphatic alley-oop finish. The bucket sequence in Friday’s 81-79 win against the Portland Trail Blazers checked off Peat’s first rebound and assist in an NBA jersey.

Koa & Man Man 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/BOm49zwftK

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 11, 2026

Other than wanting to win as many games as possible in Las Vegas, Peat set the goal of leading the Summer League in offensive rebounding. He had two offensive boards in 28 minutes.

The former Arizona Wildcat got in the scoring column himself with a tick over four minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

Peat collected a bounce pass from guard Jameer Nelson Jr. and deposited the ball for a two-handed slam. The 19-year-old, known as “Mr. Arizona,” not only gave fans a glimpse of his on-court awareness, but showed some toughness by finishing through some contact as well.

And he did so with Dillon “The Villain” Brooks in attendance after competing for Canada’s national team in 2027 FIBA World Cup Qualifying.

Peat finished with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting (zero 3s attempted), six rebounds, four assists and three turnovers.

The Maluach-Peat linkup was among the few bright spots for Phoenix in the first half, as the team shot 8-for-38 (21%), including 0-for-13 from 3, and committed 10 turnovers. The squad turned their woes around in a big way in the closing 20 minutes, outscoring Portland 57-41 and holding the opposition to 19% (7-of-36) from 3-point range.

Mr. Arizona flying high in Vegas 🏜️ pic.twitter.com/eCeXi1ydJa

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 11, 2026

Phoenix’s starting lineup in its opening Summer League game of 2026 was Peat, Maluach, Rasheer Fleming (who turned 22 on Friday), Koby Brea and Darius Brown Jr.

Peat and the Summer Suns next play on Sunday at noon MST against the New Orleans Pelicans.

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