// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Akoldah Gak say to his date? You're a-gak-ing me crazy
Gak with the Capital City Go-Go in 2026 | |
| Oklahoma Sooners | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / center |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 12 July 2002 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College | Oklahoma (2026–present) |
| NBA draft | 2022: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2020–2026 |
| Career history | |
| 2020–2023 | Illawarra Hawks |
| 2022 | Illawarra Hawks (NBL1 East) |
| 2023 | Southern Districts Spartans |
| 2023–2025 | Cairns Taipans |
| 2024 | West Adelaide Bearcats |
| 2025 | Mexico City Capitanes |
| 2025–2026 | Capital City Go-Go |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Akoldah Gak (born 12 July 2002) is an Australian college basketball player for the Oklahoma Sooners of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Early life
[edit]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, and played junior representative basketball for Penrith.[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]
College career
[edit]On April 27, 2026, Gak committed to play college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners.[3]
Professional career
[edit]On 12 October 2020, Gak signed a three-year deal with the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL).[4] 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.[4] 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".[5] Gak received limited playing time during his three seasons with the Hawks.[6]
In the 2022 off-season, Gak played for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Summer League[7] and had a one-game stint with the Illawarra Hawks in the NBL1 East.[8] In the 2023 off-season, he played for the Southern Districts Spartans in the NBL1 North.[8]
On 10 April 2023, Gak signed a two-year deal with the Cairns Taipans.[9]
Gak joined the West Adelaide Bearcats of the NBL1 Central for the 2024 season.[8] He was named the NBL1 Central U23 Player of the Year.[10]
On 4 December 2024, Gak was ruled out for a month with a knee injury.[11]
On 2 March 2025, Gak signed with the Mexico City Capitanes of the NBA G League.[12] He joined the Washington Wizards for the 2025 NBA Summer League,[13] and was subsequently invited to their training camp. He was then added to the Wizards' G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go.
National team career
[edit]Gak played for the Australia men's national under-19 basketball team at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.[14] In 2022, he played for the Australian Boomers in three FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.[15]
Personal life
[edit]Two of Gak's older brothers have played college basketball: Gorjok for the California Baptist Lancers and Deng for the Miami Hurricanes.[1][5] Deng was born in Cairo, Egypt.[16]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 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.
- ↑ "Oklahoma secures commitment from G League center Akoldah Gak". on3.com. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Hawks Sign Akoldah Gak". NBL. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- 1 2 "'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.
- 1 2 3 "Akoldah Gak". Australiabasket.com. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ↑ "Taipans get Gak". taipans.com. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ↑ "2024 NBL1 Awards Tracker". NBL1.com.au. 22 July 2024. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024.
- ↑ "Taipans Injury Update: NBL Round 11". Cairns Taipans | Official NBL Website. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ↑ "Anuncio Akoldah Gak". Mexico City Capitanes (in Spanish). 2 March 2025. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
- ↑ "Wizards Announce 2025 Summer League Roster". NBA. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
- ↑ "Under 19 Men's 2021 World Cup Squad Revealed". Basketball Australia. 3 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ↑ "Akoldah Gak". FIBA. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ↑ "Australia – 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship". fiba.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
External links
[edit]- 2002 births
- Living people
- 21st-century Australian sportsmen
- Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico
- Australian men's basketball players
- Australian people of South Sudanese descent
- Basketball players from Sydney
- Blair Academy alumni
- Cairns Taipans players
- Capital City Go-Go players
- Illawarra Hawks players
- Mexico City Capitanes players
- People educated at St Dominic's College, Penrith
- Power forwards
- Small forwards
- Sportsmen from New South Wales
- Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent