Thon Maker
July 17, 2021
Ater Majok
- Nationality: AUS/LEB/SUD
- Date of Birth: 4/07/87
- Place of Birth: Khartoum (Sudan)
- Position: F/C
- Height (CM): 210
- Weight (KG): 106
- Junior Assoc:
- College: UConn (2009–2010)
- NBL DEBUT: 29/12/10
- AGE AT DEBUT: 23
- LAST NBL GAME: 15/12/19
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 32
- NBL History: Perth 2011 | Gold Coast 2011 | New Zealand 2020
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Ater James came to Australia as a refugee from Sudan’s civil war 1987. He migrated to Sydney through a refugee camp in Egypt. Upon arrival in Sydney, he bonded with a group of young men also from Sudan, called the South Stars basketball team. He attended high school at St Aloysius’ College and Parramatta Marist High School in Sydney, and the American International School in Carlingford where he graduated in 2008. After graduating, he committed to the University of Connecticut.
He now holds the Lebanese and Australian nationalities.
FAMILY: Is the cousin of current Perth Wildcat centre Majok Majok
NBL EXPERIENCE
Ater Majok made his NBL debut with the Gold Coast Blaze at 23 years of age. He scored seven points in his first game.
After winning the 2010 championship, Wildcats legends Paul Rogers and Martin Cattalini decided to retire, leaving room for Perth to bring in some younger talent. Ater Majok, Greg Hire, Cameron Tovey, Jeremiah Trueman, and big man Matthew Knight being the key addition. Perth had beaten out multiple offers from both European and NBL team’s offering contracts to Knight, who had spent the past season playing in Hungary. During the off-season, he was pursued by multiple European and NBL clubs, but Knight, who had previously played under coach Rob Beveridge and alongside Damian Martin with the Sydney Spirit before they exited the NBL, ultimately chose to sign with the Wildcats. Another major coup came with the team being able to retain star import Kevin Lisch despite him several European clubs offering him much larger contracts and re-signed Shawn Redhage (three-year deal).
Knight’s debut season for the Wildcats began positively before tearing his left calf muscle in a win over Melbourne (12 Dec). The injury ruled Knight out for two months, and a injury to Jesse Wagstaff (ankle ligaments) saw him on the sidelines as well shortly after. On Christmas Eve, the Wildcats signed Ater Majok (7.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks) to a six-week deal as an injury replacement for Jesse Wagstaff and Matthew Knight. 8 games later Majok was released due to behavioural issues. Despite his short stint in Perth, Majok became a favourite amongst the Wildcat’s fans with due to his shot blocking ability, blocking a total of 11 shots in his first three games. This forced coach Beveridge to sign former NBA big man Andre Brown (9.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 0.6 steals) in a attempt to improve the interior weaknesses since losing Knight (12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds) and Wagstaff (8.4 points and 4.3 rebounds).
Perth would go on to win the NBL championship while Majok would sign with rival team Gold Coast a few months later.
GOLD COAST BLAZE
2010/11
On 12 February 2011, Majok signed with the Gold Coast Blaze for the rest of the 2010/11 season as an injury replacement for Mark Worthington. On 22 March 2011, just days before the Gold Coast’s final home game of the 2010–11 NBL season against the Adelaide 36ers, Majok was released by the club so that he could advance his preparations and seek out training-camp opportunities in the United States prior to the 2011 NBA draft. In 6 games for the Blaze, he averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Gold Coast would go on to finish in sixth place (13-15).
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2019/20
In 2019/20, Majok averaged 1.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists as the Breakers finished in sixth place (15-13).
Ater Majok played three seasons across three NBL teams. This included the Gold Coast Blaze, Perth Wildcats and New Zealand Breakers. He averaged 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 24 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 32 | New Zealand | 15-13 (6) | 10 | 71.2 | 17 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 50% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 5 | 6 | 83% | 57% | 50% | 8 |
| 2010-11 | 23 | Gold Coast | 13-15 (6) | 6 | 62.0 | 17 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 38% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 5 | 12 | 42% | 39% | 38% | 7 |
| 2010-11 | 23 | Perth | 16-12 (3) | 8 | 110.0 | 60 | 22 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 21 | 41 | 51% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 18 | 23 | 78% | 58% | 51% | 11 | Totals | 24 | 243 | 94 | 51 | 9 | 22 | 29 | 4 | 26 | 20 | 48 | 33 | 69 | 47.8% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 28 | 41 | 68.3% | 54% | 48% | 11 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 32 | New Zealand | 15-13 (6) | 10 | 7.1 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 50% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 0.5 | 0.6 | 83% | 57% | 50% | 8 |
| 2010-11 | 23 | Gold Coast | 13-15 (6) | 6 | 10.3 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 38% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.8 | 2.0 | 42% | 39% | 38% | 7 |
| 2010-11 | 23 | Perth | 16-12 (3) | 8 | 13.8 | 7.5 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 5.1 | 51% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 2.3 | 2.9 | 78% | 58% | 51% | 11 | Total | 24 | 10.1 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 47.8% | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | 68.3% | 54% | 48% | 11 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 11 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- Parramatta 2008
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Majok plays internationally for the Lebanon national basketball team. He helped his country win gold at the 2022 Arab Basketball Championship in Dubai.
NBA EXPERIENCE
Ater Majok was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with pick #58 in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Majok joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2012 NBA Summer League.[15] In 3 games (1 start), he averaged 1.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 15 minutes per game.NBA TRANSACTIONS:
- June 25, 2009: Traded by the Miami Heat (as a future 2011 2nd round draft pick) with cash to the Los Angeles Lakers for Patrick Beverley.
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June 23, 2011: Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2nd round (58th pick) of the 2011 NBA Draft.
- July 7, 2016: Traded by the Los Angeles Lakers to the Chicago Bulls for José Calderón, a 2018 2nd round draft pick (Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk was later selected) and a 2019 2nd round draft pick (Bruno Fernando was later selected).
- September 1, 2017: Traded by the Chicago Bulls to the New Orleans Pelicans for Quincy Pondexter, cash considerations and a 2018 2nd round draft pick (Tony Carr was later selected).
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Turkey - FMV Işık Okulları (2010) | Slovakia - Nitra (2011-2012) | Belarus - Tsmoki-Minsk (2012–2013) | Korea - KCC Egis (2013) | Germany - BG Göttingen (2013/2014) | Poland - Trefl Sopot (2015–2016) | China - Beijing Eastern Bucks (2016), Luoyang Zhonghe (2017), Shaanxi Xinda (2018), Shaanxi Xinda(2019) | Lebanon - Homenetmen Beirut (2016–2017), Sagesse Club (2017–2018), Champville SC (2018–2019), Beirut Club (2021) | Bahrain - Al-Muharraq (2018) | Qatar - Al-Arabi (2020–2021) | Tunisia - US Monastir (2020–2022), Ezzahra Sports (2021–2022) | Venezuela - Piratas de La Guaira (2022) | Angolan - Petro de Luanda (2022-2023) | Rwanda - Patriots BBC (2023) | Libya - Al Ahly Benghazi (2023-2024)
In October 2010, Majok signed a two-month deal with FMV Isikspor Istanbul, a 2nd-division Turkish club. He played 7 games for them, averaging 13.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks in 28.3 minutes. After his contract expired, he left Turkey.
After being selected in the 2011 NBA draft, Majok signed with BK SPU Nitra of Slovakia for the 2011/12 season. In 41 league games for Nitra, he averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.4 assists per game.
In September 2012, he signed a short-term deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel but left a month later before appearing in a game for them. In November 2012, he signed with BC Tsmoki-Minsk for the rest of the 2012/13 season. In 13 VTB United League games for Tsmoki-Minsk, he averaged 4.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game.
On 3 September 2013, Majok signed with KCC Egis of Korea for the 2013/14 season. On 29 October 2013, he was released by Egis after just 12 games. The next day, he signed with Taiwan Beer for the rest of the season. On 12 November 2013, he was released by Taiwan Beer before appearing in a game for them. On 30 December 2013, he signed with BG Göttingen of Germany for the rest of the season. In 23 games for Göttingen, he averaged 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. On 1 September 2015, Majok signed with Trefl Sopot of the Polish Basketball League. In 27 games for Trefl, he averaged 9.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. In May 2016, Majok joined Beijing Eastern Bucks of the Chinese National Basketball League.
On 21 October 2016, he signed with Homenetmen Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League. In 2017, he received the Lebanese citizenship and represented Lebanon in the 2017 West Asian Championship. In June 2017, he signed with the Luoyang Zhonghe of the Chinese National Basketball League. In his first game with Luoyang, Majok recorded 24 points, 20 rebounds, and 7 blocks in a 123-138 loss to Anhui Wenyi.
In October 2017, Majok signed with Sagesse Club of the Lebanese Basketball League. In June 2018, Majok signed with Shaanxi Xinda of the Chinese National Basketball League.
Majok signed with Champville SC in Lebanon on August 16, 2018.
After a season in Australia Majok signed with Al-Arabi of the Qatari Basketball League on 20 August 2020,
In February 2020, Majok signed with US Monastir for the 2020 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season. The BAL, Africas premier mens basketball league, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 30, 2021, Majok signed with Beirut Club of the Lebanese Basketball League. In October 2021, Majok returned to Tunisia when he signed with Ezzahra Sports.
On March 2, 2022, Majok was announced to be on the roster of US Monastir for the 2022 BAL season, his second stint with the team and his second appearance in the BAL. He played as a African import due to his South Sudanese heritage. Majok and Monastir won the 2022 BAL Finals and captured the clubs first African title. He was named the Defensive Player of the Year and was given a place in the leagues All-First Team and All-Defensive Team as well.
In June 2022, Majok joined the Piratas de La Guaira of the Venezuelan SuperLiga during the BAL off-season.
In March 2023, Majok signed with Angolan club Petro de Luanda, the opponents of Monastir in the previous seasons BAL final. He only signed a contract for the BAL, and went on to finish fourth with Petro. At the end of the season, Majok joined Rwandan club Patriots BBC for the remainder of the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL).
In September 2023, Majok joined the Libyan champions Al Ahly Benghazi for the 2023/24 season.
COLLEGE
Majok sat out during the 2008/09 season because he was not cleared to play by the NCAA, and after months of eligibility paperwork he was cleared to enroll at Connecticut on January 21, 2009.
In January 2009, Majok joined the UConn roster and was eligible to practice with the squad for the remainder of the season, but was not able to play in games, and UConn noted he could sit on the bench for home games in street clothes but could not travel with the team.
In April 2009, he declared for the 2009 NBA Draft and did not sign with an agent, keeping his college eligibility intact if he withdrew by the NCAA deadline, and he later chose to withdraw his name before the draft and returned to UConn.
Majok became eligible for game action at the conclusion of the Fall semester in 2009, and UConn reported his debut came against Central Florida on December 20, 2009.
On 20 December 2009, Majok made his debut with the Huskies, scoring one point and collecting three rebounds in 16 minutes of action as a starter, and contemporaneous reporting noted he had missed the team’s first eight games before becoming eligible for that contest.
In 2009/10, he played in 26 games and made 22 starts for the Huskies, averaging 2.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game, while also totaling 42 blocks across the season.
His season totals included 59 points, 79 rebounds, and 21 fouls in 383 minutes, and his role grew after he entered the lineup, with UConn’s game-by-game notes tracking him as a starter from his first appearance.
In September 2010, Majok announced that he was leaving Connecticut, though the reasons as to why remain unclear, and he later said publicly that leaving was not his choice.
AWARDS
- BAL champion (2022)
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BAL Defensive Player of the Year (2022)
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All-BAL First Team (2022)
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2× BAL All-Defensive Team (2022, 2023)
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Chinese NBL champion (2018)
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3× Chinese NBL Defensive Player of the Year (2016, 2018, 2019)
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Henri Chalhoub Tournament champion (2017)
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German Second League champion (2014)
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Belarus League champion (2013)
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Slovakia Cup champion (2012)
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2× Tunisian League champion (2020, 2021)
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Tunisian League Best Foreign Player (2020)
Related
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