Akoldah Gak
{{short description|Australian basketball player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Akoldah Gak
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| number = 13
| team = Mexico City Capitanes
| position = Small forward / power forward
| league = NBA G League
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2002|7|12|df=y}}
| birth_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| height_cm = 210
| weight_kg = 102
| high_school =
- St Dominic's College
(Sydney, New South Wales) - Blair Academy
(Blairstown, New Jersey)
| career_start = 2020
| draft_year = 2022
| years1 = 2020–2023
| team1 = Illawarra Hawks
| years2 = 2022
| team2 = Illawarra Hawks (NBL1 East)
| years3 = 2023
| team3 = Southern Districts Spartans
| years4 = 2023–2025
| team4 = Cairns Taipans
| years5 = 2024
| team5 = West Adelaide Bearcats
| years6 = 2025–present
| team6 = Mexico City Capitanes
| highlights =
- NBL1 Central U23 Player of the Year (2024)
}}
Akoldah Gak (born 12 July 2002) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Mexico City Capitanes of the NBA G League.
Early life
Gak was born in Sydney, New South Wales, to parents who had fled South Sudan and moved to Australia.{{cite web |last1=Red |first1=Christian |title=Luol Deng helps connect Australia's South Sudanese basketball pipeline |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/25452038/luol-deng-helps-australia-south-sudanese-hoops-prospects-advance |website=ESPN |access-date=9 July 2021 |date=5 December 2018}} He attended St Dominic's College in Sydney.{{cite web |title=Basketball success for former student, Akoldah Gak |url=https://www.stdominics.nsw.edu.au/2021/06/basketball-success-for-former-student-akoldah-gak/ |website=St Dominic's College |access-date=9 July 2021 |date=June 2021}} 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.
Professional career
On 12 October 2020, Gak signed a three-year deal with the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL).{{cite web |title=Hawks Sign Akoldah Gak |url=https://nbl.com.au/news/hawks-sign-akoldah-gak |website=NBL |access-date=9 July 2021 |date=12 October 2020}} 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. 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". Gak received limited playing time during his three seasons with the Hawks.{{cite web |title=NBA Aspirant Gak Signs in Cairns |url=https://nbl.com.au/news/nba-aspirant-gak-signs-in-cairns |website=NBL |access-date=25 October 2023 |date=10 April 2023}}
In the 2022 off-season, Gak played for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Summer League{{cite web |title=Bulls announce Summer League 2022 schedule and roster |url=https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/bulls-announce-summer-league-2022-schedule-and-roster |website=NBA |access-date=31 January 2023 |date=30 June 2022}} and had a one-game stint with the Illawarra Hawks in the NBL1 East.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.australiabasket.com/player/Akoldah-Gak/557180|title=Akoldah Gak|work=Australiabasket.com|access-date=28 April 2024|url-access=subscription}} In the 2023 off-season, he played for the Southern Districts Spartans in the NBL1 North.
On 10 April 2023, Gak signed a two-year deal with the Cairns Taipans.{{cite web |title=Taipans get Gak |url=https://www.taipans.com/news/taipans-get-gak |website=taipans.com |access-date=10 April 2023 |date=10 April 2023}}
Gak joined the West Adelaide Bearcats for the 2024 NBL1 Central season. He was named the NBL1 Central U23 Player of the Year.{{cite web|url=https://nbl1.com.au/article/2024-nbl1-awards-tracker|title=2024 NBL1 Awards Tracker|work=NBL1.com.au|date=22 July 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240723102612/https://nbl1.com.au/article/2024-nbl1-awards-tracker|archive-date=23 July 2024}}
On 4 December 2024, Gak was ruled out for a month with a knee injury.{{cite news |title=Taipans Injury Update: NBL Round 11 |url=https://www.taipans.com/news/taipans-injury-update-nbl-round-11 |access-date=5 December 2024 |work=Cairns Taipans {{!}} Official NBL Website |date=4 December 2024}}
On 2 March 2025, Gak signed with the Mexico City Capitanes of the NBA G League.{{cite web |title=Anuncio Akoldah Gak |url=https://capitanes.mx/anuncio-akoldah-gak/ |website=Mexico City Capitanes |access-date=10 March 2025 |language=Spanish |date=2 March 2025}}
National team career
Gak played for the Australia men's national under-19 basketball team at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.{{cite web |title=Under 19 Men's 2021 World Cup Squad Revealed |url=https://australia.basketball/blog/2021/06/03/under-19-mens-2021-world-cup-squad-revealed/ |website=Basketball Australia |access-date=9 July 2021 |date=3 June 2021}} In 2022, he played for the Australian Boomers in three FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.{{cite web|url=https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/asian-qualifiers/player/Akoldah-Gak|title=Akoldah Gak|work=FIBA|access-date=28 April 2024}}
Personal life
Two of Gak's older brothers have played college basketball: Gorjok for the California Baptist Lancers and Deng for the Miami Hurricanes.{{cite web |title='NBA prospect' Gak signs as Hawks' NBL development player |url=https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/6964293/nba-prospect-gak-signs-as-hawks-development-player/ |website=Illawarra Mercury |access-date=9 July 2021 |date=12 October 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://nbl.com.au/player/130770/1592134/akoldah-gak NBL profile]
{{Mexico City Capitanes current roster}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gak, Akoldah}}
Category:Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Category:Australian men's basketball players
Category:Australian people of South Sudanese descent
Category:Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent
Category:Basketball players from Sydney
Category:Cairns Taipans players
Category:Forwards (basketball)
Category:Illawarra Hawks players
Category:Sportsmen from New South Wales