It appears Thon Maker will be playing in the NBA sooner rather than later.

The 7-foot-1 native of South Sudan has been cleared for the June NBA draft, where he is a possible lottery pick. Maker and his advisers discovered a possible loophole in NBA rules allowing him to sidestep the “one and done” college process that most elite prospects have gone through.

To be eligible for the NBA draft, a player must be at least 19 and one year removed from high school.

Maker, having turned 19 in February, qualifies on both counts, although he is essentially still in high school in Ontario, Canada.

It was determined Maker actually had enough credits to graduate from Athlete Institute in Orangeville, Canada, just northwest of Toronto, last spring and that 2015-16 has been a “post grad” season.

Athlete Institute is a high-performance training center linked academically to nearby Orangeville Prep.

Indiana, Notre Dame, Kansas and Kentucky were in the lead had Maker chosen college for one season.

Maker’s rare talents — he has been a must-see YouTube colossal for years — have been on display in Central Virginia. Two years ago while at Martinsville’s Carlisle School, Maker played in tournaments at Trinity Episcopal and Virginia State University and was the subject of a Free Press feature article.  

At VSU’s Daniel Gymnasium, he led Carlisle to the Virginia Independent Schools Division II championship.

He has spent the past two seasons in Canada.

Athlete Institute alumni include Jamal Murray, who figures to be a first-round NBA draft pick in June after one season at Kentucky.

Maker, weighing 220 pounds with a standing reach of 9-foot-3, is likely to become the first player since 2005 to go straight from a high school campus to the NBA.

In 2005, the NBA implemented the rule requiring players to beat at least 19 and a year removed from high school. Most have accepted the “one and done” route.

Influencing Maker’s decision to dodge the obligatory college residence may have been influenced by two college freshmen this past season.

Skal Labissiere at the University of Kentucky and Cheick Diallo at the University of Kansas were projected as lottery picks after one college season. However, each performed below expectations and may have lost status.

High-end college play can expose flaws not so visible on the high school circuit.

Between now and the NBA draft, Maker plans to work out with renowned trainer Drew Hanlen in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Hanlen has served as a personal trainer for such previous NBA first round draft picks as Andrew Wiggins, Bradley Beal and Anthony Bennett.

Maker’s brother, 6-foot-10 Matur Maker, is a junior at Athlete Institute. The brothers moved from South Sudan to Australia to New Orleans and then to Martinsville before going to Canada. They are Dinka people, like Manute Bol, the late 7-foot-7 former NBA center.