Akoldah Gak (born 12 July 2002) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL).
No. 47 – Illawarra Hawks | |
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Position | Small forward / Power forward |
League | NBL |
Personal information | |
Born | (2002-07-12) 12 July 2002 (age 19) Sydney, New South Wales |
Nationality | Australian |
Listed height | 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) |
Listed weight | 102 kg (225 lb) |
Career information | |
High school |
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Playing career | 2020–present |
Career history | |
2020–present | Illawarra Hawks |
Gak attended St Dominic's College in Sydney, New South Wales.[1] 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.[2]
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 played for the Australia men's national under-19 basketball team at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.[5]
Gak was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in 2002 to parents who had fled South Sudan and moved to Australia.[2] Two of his older brothers have played college basketball: Gorjok for the California Baptist Lancers and Deng for the Miami Hurricanes.[2][4]
Illawarra Hawks current roster | |
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