Akoldah Gak (born 12 July 2002) is an Australian professional basketball player for the

Mexico City Capitanes The Mexico City Capitanes () are a Mexican professional basketball team based in Mexico City. The Capitanes competed as a member club in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) for its first three seasons and the franchise is currently ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

Early life

Gak was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, to parents who had fled South Sudan and moved to Australia. He attended St Dominic's College in Sydney. Gak received a scholarship to attend

Blair Academy Blair Academy is a coeducational, boarding and day school for students in high school. The school serves students from ninth through twelfth grades as well as a small post-graduate class. The school's campus is located on a campus in Blairst ...

in the United States in 2018 through a basketball pipeline that was established by professional basketball player and Blair alumni,

Luol Deng Luol Ajou Deng (born 16 April 1985) is a South Sudanese–British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in South Sudan that was then part of Republ ...

Professional career

On 12 October 2020, Gak signed a three-year deal with the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He was rostered as a development player during the

2020–21 NBL season The 2020–21 NBL season was the 43rd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested in the 2020–21 season. The regular season was played between January and June 2021, followed by a ...

before he became a contracted player for the remainder of his tenure. Gak's family chose for him to develop in Australia due to the global uncertainty from the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; Hawks head coach

Brian Goorjian Brian Warwick Goorjian (born 28 July 1953) is an American-Australian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL). In an NBL coaching career spanning over 20 y ...

considered the assignment of a

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) prospect to his team as a "real compliment". Gak received limited playing time during his three seasons with the Hawks. In the 2022 off-season, Gak played for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

and had a one-game stint with the

in the

NBL1 East NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales partnered with the Nat ...

. In the 2023 off-season, he played for the Southern Districts Spartans in the

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

. On 10 April 2023, Gak signed a two-year deal with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

. Gak joined the

West Adelaide Bearcats West Adelaide Bearcats is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching West Adelaide Basketball Club (WABC), the major administrative basketball ...

for the 2024

NBL1 Central NBL1 Central, formerly the Premier League, is a semi-professional basketball league in South Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball South Australia partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to ...

season. He was named the NBL1 Central U23 Player of the Year. On 4 December 2024, Gak was ruled out for a month with a knee injury. On 2 March 2025, Gak signed with the

of the

National team career

Gak played for the

Australia men's national under-19 basketball team The Australia men's national under-17, under-18 and under-19 basketball team is the junior men's basketball side that represents Australia in international under-17, under-18 and under-19 youth basketball competitions. Nicknamed the Emus, the te ...

at the

2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup The 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (Latvian: 2021. gada FIBA Pasaules kauss basketbolā līdz 19 gadu vecumam) was the 15th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championshi ...

. In 2022, he played for the

Australian Boomers The Australia men's national basketball team, nicknamed the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has placed among the world elite teams, ...

in three FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.

Personal life

Two of Gak's older brothers have played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

: Gorjok for the

California Baptist Lancers The Cal Baptist Lancers are the athletic teams that represent California Baptist University, located in Riverside, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), ...

and Deng for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

References

External links

NBL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gak, Akoldah 2002 births Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian men's basketball players Australian people of South Sudanese descent Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent Basketball players from Sydney Blair Academy alumni Cairns Taipans players Forwards (basketball) Illawarra Hawks players Sportsmen from New South Wales People educated at St Dominic's College, Penrith 21st-century Australian sportsmen