NICKNAME/S: Jook

BIO: Born in Rumbek, South Sudan, Majok came to Australia as a eight-year-old, his family settling in Perth. As a youth he initially played soccer before developing a liking for basketball during his high school years spent at Kingsway Christian College.

After drawing interest from overseas scouts, he moved to the United States and played two years of high school ball at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts.

Majok played two years at Northfield Mount Hermon for coach John Carroll, leading his team to the finals of the prep school national tournament in the 2009/10 season. Majok was named to the All-New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Second Team and Northfield Mount Hermon compiled a 59-11 record during his two seasons there.

He went on to play college basketball with Midland College (2010- 2012) and Ball State (2012-2014).

FAMILY: Son of Maker Majok and Hellen Majwec. He is also cousins with NBL player Majok Majok

NBL EXPERIENCE

Majok Majok made his NBL debut with the Melbourne United at 22 years of age. He scored eight points in his first game.

After returning to Australia from a season in Slovenia, Majok signed with Melbourne United on 9 July 2015.

Majok helped Melbourne finish on top of the ladder (18–10) while averaging 5.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 0.5 assists. Despite the strong finish under new coach Dean Demopoulos, the team lost to New Zealand in the semifinals, losing to the Breakers in two straight games.

2016/17
With the league allowing three import players per team this season, Melbourne replaced import duo Stephen Holt and Hakim Warrick with Cedric Jackson, Ramone Moore and Devin Williams. They essentially signed a fourth import by then adding Tai Wesley (via New Zealand) who was allowed to sign as a local under the asian player rule and swapped one Boomers big man for another with David Anderson (via Europe) replacing Daniel Kickert (to Sydney).

In coach Dean Demopoulos second season, United started poorly (3-7) and Jackson (10.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals) quickly being shown the door due to a poor attitude and failing to buy into the team’s defensive principals.

Casper Ware arrived as his replacement shortly after, immediately changing the squad’s direction.

Around this time, Chris Goulding (17.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals), who missed six games with ankle issues, began to find his form, and David Barlow (5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), returned from a calf injury that had seen him unable to take the court at all for the past two years.

Behind Ware (22.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) and a healthy roster, United turned things around, winning 10 of their last 18 games.

With the team still capable of reaching the playoffs, Devin Williams (3.2 points and 4.0 rebounds), who surprisingly lasted 16 games before being cut after media and fans pointed out his lack of production and called for an import change for most of the season. With a third of the season remaining, Josh Boone (10.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) arrived and quickly went to work cleaning up Ware and Goulding’s missed shots and finished as the league’s best rebounder. Minute for minute, there was no more effective player than Josh Boone, who finished as Melbourne’s best player in several advanced metrics, including PER, ORtg, DRtg, eFG%, TRB%, and BLK%.

While he avoided the same fate Jackson suffered, Ramone Moore (10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) didn’t deliver the type of impact expected of an import either.

Injuries and offensive meltdowns were the storylines this season. Tai Wesley (8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) and Majok Majok (5.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks) were the only two players to compete in all 28 games for United, and coupled with the import turnover, only six players suited up for at least 75% of games. Combine this with the fact that Melbourne finished with the second-worst true shooting percentage in the league and was just 2-5 in games decided by five points.

Ware earned a place in the All-NBL First Team despite playing 18 games, and this combined with United’s strong finish many fans were excited about what the future could bring. This was shown by the almost-capacity crowd of 9,545 showing up at Melbourne’s last home game despite the team having nothing to play for.

In Demopoulos’ second year as head coach, he would struggle managing player relationships, and by the end of the season, it was public knowledge his relationship with certain players wasn’t ‘civil’. A divide between the veterans of the team and the ever-competitive Demopoulos would result in seeing United unable to replicate the success from the previous season, finishing in sixth-place finish (13-15) and both parties moving on at the end of the season.

2017/18
2017 saw the beginning of the ‘Dean Vickerman’ era with the Sydney assistant coach replacing Dean Demopoulos, who had struggled to fit in with the playing group during his tenure. Vickerman signed on for two seasons and shortly after, the team re-signed David Barlow and imports Josh Boone and Casper Ware. Vickerman brought with him forward Craig Moller (via Sydney) as a replacement for the departing Todd Blanchfield (to Illawarra) and added Casey Prather (via Perth) as the team’s third import.

Melbourne won their season opener against Adelaide (99–97) with Prather (20 points) leading the team offensively. Despite United’s hot start, they would win only five of their first ten games.

On December 16, Prather went down with a dislocated elbow in the second quarter of Melbourne’s win over Illawarra (84–78) and was subsequently ruled out for a minimum of eight weeks. While United looked for a injury replacement, development player Felix Von Hofe was elevated into the team until they signed former NBA talent Carrick Felix. Felix joined the team in December and with his addition, the team sparked a strong run home, finishing 15-3 for the remainder of the season.

Majok would average 2.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game, while Melbourne would finish in first place and face fourth-seed New Zealand in the semifinals. In game one, Prather (15 points) led the team in scoring despite starting on the bench and led United to a 11-point win (88–77). Prather (12 points) then helped Melbourne win game two in overtime (88–86) and progress to the Grand Final. On the opposite side of the bracket, the Adelaide 36ers eliminated the reigning champions Perth in two games as well.

The opening game saw Casper Ware (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) come out on fire in the first half, before leaving the game with a hip injury. United sharp-shooter Chris Goulding would then step up with a impressive shooting display (26 points) to give Melbourne the victory (107-96) at Hisense Arena. Daniel Johnson (18 points) led the 36ers in scoring alongside Mitch Creek (14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists).

In game two, Adelaide came out firing behind Majok Deng (18 points), Mitch Creek (17 points) and Ramone Moore (17 points) and tied the series with a 15-point win (110-95). Melbourne were led by Casey Prather (20 points), who had re-joined the team just prior to the Grand Final series, and Chris Goulding (19 points).

The 36ers win came at a cost, with import Josh Childress (13 points and 8 rebounds) going down with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter that would remove him from the remaining Grand Final games.

The series returned to Melbourne for game three, where tensions exploded at the end of the first half, Adelaide’s Nathan Sobey clashing heads with Casey Prather after the United import hit a three-pointer on the stroke of halftime. The Adelaide guard was called for a disqualifying foul and ejected from the match. There was further drama at the end of the game with players from both teams needing to be separated after the final buzzer. The incident also resulted in 36ers head coach Joey Wright being fined handsomely for questioning the integrity of the referees.

When the smoke settled, Melbourne had squeaked out a narrow victory (101-98) after Adelaide’s Majok Deng missed a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds. Casper Ware (25 points), Prather (23 points) and Chris Goulding (15 points), who hit three clutch triples to take control of the game, were among United’s best.

Game four saw Adelaide swingman Nathan Sobey (16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists), who was ejected in game three for his part in the halftime melee, lead the way for the 36ers in the first half with the scoreboard reading 55-31 at the halfway mark. Again the home team was victorious, Adelaide getting a comfortable win over Melbourne United (90-81). Johnson (29 points and 10 rebounds) and Prather (23 points) top scoring for their respective sides.

In the deciding game five, Goulding, Ware (both 23 points) and Prather (19 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals) came to play and Melbourne defeated Adelaide (100-82) in front of a sold-out crowd at Hisense Arena, winning their first title since rebranding from the Tigers. Shannon Shorter (20 points) led Adelaide in scoring, while Chris Goulding was named Finals MVP after averaging 16.6 points and 3.6 rebounds over the five-game series. With the win, Prather collected his third NBL championship to become the first player in NBL history to win three straight titles in his first three seasons in the league.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2018/19
On 4 May 2018, Majok Majok signed a one-year deal to play with the Breakers, joining a team undergoing significant changes after a major ownership shift and the departure of several key players. In 2018, a new regime was brought about at the Breakers organisation. In February, a consortium headed by former NBA player Matt Walsh became the majority shareholders via a newly formed company called Breakers Basketball Ltd, thus ending the 13-year Liz and Paul Blackwell ownership team.

Next came the exodus of four of the franchise’s most long-serving figures during the off-season. Paul Henare’s 15 years as player and coach came to an end, New Zealand’s all-time leading scorer Kirk Penney retired, and Alex Pledger (to Melbourne), Mika Vukona (to Brisbane), and young talent Robert Loe (to Cairns) all signed deals elsewhere.

Thomas Abercrombie would step into the role of captain with Vukona’s exit, and former player Kevin Braswell signed up to be the team’s new head coach. Braswell was tasked with remaking the Breakers squad, which included bringing back Tai Wesley (via Melbourne) and Tall Blacks star Corey Webster (via Europe) on a three-year deal. Jarrad Weeks (via Cairns) and Majok Majok (via Melbourne) were later added to finalize the team’s local roster, while Patrick Richard, Armani Moore, and Shawn Long signed as import players.

The Breakers headed to the USA and faced the Phoenix Suns in a preseason NBLxNBA exhibition game to start their season. Despite being heavy underdogs, New Zealand pushed the Suns to the limit, making a late surge to cut the lead to four in the final minute before falling just short in a 91–86 loss. Corey Webster (27 points and 7 assists) and Tai Wesley (15 points and 7 rebounds) led the Breakers offensively. Phoenix, who were without star Devin Booker, relied on Deandre Ayton (21 points and 15 rebounds) and Trevor Ariza (16 points and 6 assists).

New Zealand’s season was marked by inconsistency, injuries, and roster changes, leading to a difficult start with a five-game losing streak in late November and early December. The team struggled to find their footing, winning just four of their first twelve games.

New Zealand’s lacklustre season was also due to several key players not delivering as expected. Corey Webster (10.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists), who was once a premier scorer in the league, experienced his worst statistical season in five years. Thomas Abercrombie (8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists) and Shea Ili (7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) both saw a decline from last season, while imports Patrick Richard (11.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) and Armani Moore (7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) fell short of expectations.

Majok Majok (2 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.2 assists) played a limited role for the Breakers this season. His best games included his 10-point, 3-rebound, and 1-block effort while shooting a perfect 4-of-4 from the field against Cairns (9 Nov 2018), his 6-point, 2-rebound effort against Melbourne (14 Oct 2018), and a 4-point and 2-rebound game against Perth (3 Nov 2018).

Alongside Majok, other notable contributors for the Breakers were Jarrad Weeks (10.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), who delivered the best season of his career finishing runner-up for both the Best Sixth Man and Most Improved Player awards. Shawn Long (18.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks) finished second in the league for rebounding and blocks, earning him a place on the All-NBL Second Team as well as the Breakers Club MVP.

In January, New Zealand (8-12) fell to the bottom of the ladder following three consecutive losses, including one to last-placed Cairns. Despite their efforts to regain form, the Breakers ended their season with a 12-16 record, finishing in sixth place and missing the playoffs.

PERTH WILDCATS
2019/20
The Wildcats’ first move of the 2019 off-season was re-signing four-time championship-winning coach Trevor Gleeson (three-year deal) as well as five-time championship-winning duo Damian Martin and Jesse Wagstaff and import Terrico White. In total, six members of the championship-winning squad would return, with Wani Swaka Lo Buluk being elevated from development player to the full roster and replace the retiring Greg Hire. The team also added Dario Hunt and Majok to replace exiting big men Tom Jervis and Angus Brandt (to Europe).

Perth started the season in dominant fashion (5–1), but by round 10, had taken a step backwards (8-5) following back-to-back losses. The Wildcats regrouped behind four straight wins and closed out December with a 13–6 record. In December, Damian Martin played his 300th game for the Wildcats, then suffered a left heel injury, which saw him miss the entire month of January. After losing back-to-back games to start 2020, Gleeson and the Wildcat’s decided to release Dario Hunt (8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) and replace him with seven-year NBA veteran Miles Plumlee (9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks).

The addition of Plumlee gave Perth the inside presence they needed, showcased in a Perth win over New Zealand (80–79), when he recorded 23 points and 18 rebounds, becoming the first Wildcat to record 20+ points and 15+ rebounds in a game since 2007.

With seven games remaining and Plumlee required to play all seven to qualify for the postseason, the Wildcat’s won six of seven games to secure a 34th consecutive finals appearance with a second-place finish (19–9). Fresh off his World Cup experience playing for the Australian Boomers, Nick Kay (15 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals) delivered a breakout season alongside Bryce Cotton (22.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists) who etched himself into the history books, becoming the first import to lead the league in scoring three years in a row.

in the semifinals, Perth defeated Cairns (2–1) to advance to their 15th NBL Grand Final where thanks to a big games from Cotton (32 points) and Kay (14 points and 6 rebounds) they claimed game one (88–86) in front of 11,647 rabid Kings fans.

As the team’s prepared for game two in Perth, it was decided that the remaining games would all take place with no fans in the building. Without a single fan in the building, the Kings evened the series (1-1) thanks to Jae’Sean Tate (21 points) nailing seven of his nine shots and Andrew Bogut (24 points and 14 rebounds) having one of his best games of the season.

In game three of the grand final series against the Sydney Kings, Kay (30 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists) delivered a career high scoring effort, including seven three-pointers alongside Cotton (31 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists) to propel Perth to a game three victory (111–96).

Prior to game four, the Sydney Kings chose to withdraw from the series due to uncertainties of the coronavirus and travel restrictions. With multiple Kings players based overseas, many were concerned the restrictions would prevent any return home. After a week spent deliberating, it was decided Perth would be awarded the championship due to holding a 2-1 lead at the time, securing their tenth title. After averaging 30.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists over the three games, Cotton was named Grand Final MVP for the second time in four years, becoming the first player in Wildcats history to be named league MVP, Grand Final MVP and win a championship all in the same season.

Majok averaged 3.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in a heavily reduced role than he saw in previous seasons as a result of being stuck behind Nick Kay and Miles Plumlee in the rotation.

2020/21
In June 2020, Perth exercised their option on Majok’s contract and retained him for the 2020/21 season. However, in November 2020, he suffered a Achilles tendon injury at team training which forced him to miss the entire season.

2021/22
Majok would complete his rehab in Perth and on 6 July 2021, re-signed with the Wildcats on a two-year deal. This season, would see the end of head coach Trevor Gleeson’s tenure, who led the team to five championships in seven seasons. Gleeson would take a opportunity to join the Toronto Raptors coaching staff in the NBA.

The team suffered another setback, losing mid-season signing Will Magnay and half of Perth’s bench rotation (Clint Steindl, Jarrad Weeks, and Jarred Bairstow), all signing multi-year deals to play for Tasmania under former Wildcats assistant Scott Roth.

Perth then looked to rebuild its squad, bringing in US coach Scott Morrison to replace Gleeson, adding imports Vic Law (via Brisbane) Michael Frazier III and signing Matthew Hodgson (via Brisbane) with their last free roster spot.

Majok would step up his game in the Wildcat’s new system and average 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds as the Perth Wildcats didn’t miss a beat despite all of the changes and spent the entire regular season among the league’s top four teams. As the four-month road trip came to a close, Perth were second on the ladder (13-6) and looked to finish the season strong with their remaining nine games to be played at home.

Perth was second on the ladder when the team returned to Western Australia to play their last nine games, all at home. During that time, the team decided to replace Frazier with big man John Brown III, who flew into the country and began training only to receive the news that his former team would not provide a clearance in time for him to make the playoffs. Perth was then faced with the uncomfortable situation of asking Frazier, who had been training alongside Brown, to return to the lineup while Brown III headed back to the USA.

Injuries saw Law go down to a season ending injury (knee) and Cotton miss several games during the run home, resulting in Perth winning only three games prior to facing the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the last game of the season. Perth entered the game sitting in fourth place, with their playoff chances on the line, but when the team built a eight-point lead in the second half, it seemed a lock that the Wildcats would return to the playoffs for the 37th season in a row. The Phoenix, however, fought back and ended the Wildcats’ extraordinary run of finals campaigns with a thrilling two-point overtime win, ending the team’s run of consecutive playoff appearances, a streak which had begun in 1986.

2022/23
After missing the playoffs for the first time in 35 years under Canadian coach, Scott Morrison announced he was leaving after just one season so he could return home for family reasons. In his place, the Wildcat’s appointed former Townsville Crocodiles star John Rillie as the club’s new head coach on a three-year deal.

Perth retained the majority of its roster, with only Kevin White (to Illawarra) and Matt Hodgson (to Taiwan) not returning. Perth re-signed Bryce Cotton (3 Year Deal), Todd Blanchfield (3 Year Deal) and Jesse Wagstaff (1 Year Deal) and elevated backup guard Kyle Zunic from development player to the full roster. Corey Webster, who the Wildcats had signed to a deal in 2017 only to see him leave before the season started, signed as a free agent. To round out the roster, imports TaShawn Thomas (France) and Brady Manek (North Carolina) were added for some additional scoring punch.

Rillie’s squad began the season nicely, notching up three wins in a row and looking like the Wildcats of old as they sat on top of the NBL ladder. This was then met with a five game losing streak and drop to seventh place, where they hung around until the final month of the season.

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With six games remaining in the regular season, Perth added Tai Webster to their roster after he was released from his team in Turkey, reuniting him with his brother Corey. Following the signing of Webster, Corey Shervill was released from the Wildcat’s 11-man roster.

The team’s final three games saw them lose to Tasmania (102–94) after allowing the JackJumpers to outscore them 27-15 across the final 10 minutes. A crucial loss to Cairns Taipans (84-71) set up a nail-biting last round where Perth needed to defeat the league leading Sydney Kings to avoid elimination. On the back of a upset victory (96-84) Perth (15-13) claimed sixth place on the ladder and advanced into the league’s inaugural play-in tournament.

After defeating the South East Melbourne Phoenix they would fall short against the Cairns Taipans and miss out on making the semi finals for the second year in a row.

Majok appeared in 23 games for the Wildcats, averaging 2.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.3 assists.

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS
2023/24
Majok was not offered a deal to return to Perth in 2023 and after being unable to secure a full time roster spot with any other NBL teams, signed with Tasmania on a short term injury replacement deal to cover the loss of Will Magnay.

Majok Majok currently plays for the South East Melbourne Phoenix and has played 189 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 3.7 points, 4 rebounds, and 0.4 assists since entering the league in 2015.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

South East Melbourne Phoenix – 1 Year Deal (2024-25)

HIGHLIGHTS:

When your team mates decide to heckle you during an interview ????@majok55majok @MelbUnitedHQ @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/rA8BEIjWJ8

— Abby Dinham (@abbydinham) November 21, 2016

Dan Boyce (811 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.