Akoldah Gak
Gak with the Capital City Go-Go in 2026 | |
| No. 47 – Capital City Go-Go | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / power forward |
| League | NBA G League |
| 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 |
|
| NBA draft | 2022: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| 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–present | Capital City Go-Go |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Akoldah Gak (born 12 July 2002) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go 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.[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]
Professional career
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 of the NBL1 Central for the 2024 season.[7] He was named the NBL1 Central U23 Player of the Year.[9]
On 4 December 2024, Gak was ruled out for a month with a knee injury.[10]
On 2 March 2025, Gak signed with the Mexico City Capitanes of the NBA G League.[11] He joined the Washington Wizards for the 2025 NBA Summer League,[12] 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
Gak played for the Australia men's national under-19 basketball team at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.[13] In 2022, he played for the Australian Boomers in three FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.[14]
Personal life
Two of Gak's older brothers have played college basketball: Gorjok for the California Baptist Lancers and Deng for the Miami Hurricanes.[1][4] Deng was born in Cairo, Egypt.[15]
References
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b "Hawks Sign Akoldah Gak". NBL. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ a b "'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.
- ^ a b c "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.