Akoldah_Gak
Akoldah Gak
Australian basketball player
Akoldah Gak (born 12 July 2002) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL).
| No. 13 – Cairns Taipans | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / power forward |
| League | NBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (2002-07-12) 12 July 2002 (age 21) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Listed height | 210 cm (6 ft 11 in) |
| Listed weight | 102 kg (225 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020–2023 | Illawarra Hawks |
| 2022 | Illawarra Hawks (NBL1 East) |
| 2023 | Southern Districts Spartans |
| 2023–present | Cairns Taipans |
| 2024 | West Adelaide Bearcats |
Gak was born in Sydney, New South Wales, to parents who had fled South Sudan and moved to Australia.[1] He attended St Dominic's College in Sydney.[2] Gak received a scholarship to attend Blair Academy in the United States in 2018 through a basketball pipeline that was established by professional basketball player and Blair alumni, Luol Deng.[1]
On 12 October 2020, Gak signed a three-year deal with the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL).[3] He was rostered as a development player during the 2020–21 NBL season before he became a contracted player for the remainder of his tenure.[3] Gak's family chose for him to develop in Australia due to the global uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic; Hawks head coach Brian Goorjian considered the assignment of a National Basketball Association (NBA) prospect to his team as a "real compliment".[4] Gak received limited playing time during his three seasons with the Hawks.[5]
In the 2022 off-season, Gak played for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Summer League[6] and had a one-game stint with the Illawarra Hawks in the NBL1 East.[7] In the 2023 off-season, he played for the Southern Districts Spartans in the NBL1 North.[7]
On 10 April 2023, Gak signed a two-year deal with the Cairns Taipans.[8]
Gak joined the West Adelaide Bearcats for the 2024 NBL1 Central season.[7]
Gak played for the Australia men's national under-19 basketball team at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.[9] In 2022, he played for the Australian Boomers in three FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.[10]
Two of Gak's older brothers have played college basketball: Gorjok for the California Baptist Lancers and Deng for the Miami Hurricanes.[1][4]
- Red, Christian (5 December 2018). "Luol Deng helps connect Australia's South Sudanese basketball pipeline". ESPN. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- "Basketball success for former student, Akoldah Gak". St Dominic's College. June 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- "Hawks Sign Akoldah Gak". NBL. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- "'NBA prospect' Gak signs as Hawks' NBL development player". Illawarra Mercury. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- "NBA Aspirant Gak Signs in Cairns". NBL. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- "Bulls announce Summer League 2022 schedule and roster". NBA. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- "Akoldah Gak". Australiabasket.com. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- "Taipans get Gak". taipans.com. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- "Under 19 Men's 2021 World Cup Squad Revealed". Basketball Australia. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- "Akoldah Gak". FIBA. Retrieved 28 April 2024.