BIO: Gorjak Gak was born in St Clair (NSW) and was raised the city of Sydney. He later moved to the US and attended Victory Rock Prep in Sarasota, Florida.

Capable of making big defensive plays and swatting opponents into the stands, whilst measuring in at 211cm he is listed as having a 7-foot-4 wingspan.

FAMILY: Gorjok’s brother, Akoldah Gak also played 53 games in the NBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Gorjok Gak made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 26 years of age. He scored seven points in his first game.

On the 6 July 2022, Gak signed a one-year deal with the Brisbane Bullets. He joined a Brisbane squad who had finishing second last the season prior, and loaded up by adding Boomers big man Aron Baynes and veteran guard Tyler Johnson who had been teammates while playing in the NBA with Phoenix.

Devondrick Walker (via NBL1) was signed as a second import and local talent Harry Froling (via Illawarra), Rasmus Bach (via New Zealand) and DJ Mitchell (via NBL1), son of former Bullets import Mike Mitchell, were also brought into the squad to complement the returning core of Jason Cadee, Tyrell Harrison, Tanner Krebs and captain Nathan Sobey.

The Bullets off-season recruiting saw many in the media pencil them in as a top four team but with the health of both Sobey coming back from a knee injury that had kept him on the sidelines for half of NBL22 and Baynes returning to the court after a neck injury suffered at the Olympics almost left him paralysed, many questioned their ability to stay healthy.

Six games into the season and the Bullets had yet to win a game. Baynes (11.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) was far from the NBA player he was 12 months earlier and Sobey (15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists) recorded his lowest numbers for points and rebounds in five years.

Brisbane then recorded back-to-back wins, both against Illawarra. The first victory (82-56) on the back of a 17 point, 14 rebound effort from Baynes and the second (86-61) thanks to Sobey, scoring 14 first quarter points and 22 first half points, both career highs. The wins marking the first time Brisbane had won consecutive matches by at least 25-points since February 2007.

A two point victory over a strong Tasmanian team (74-72) gave them a three game winning streak, but just when things started to look positive, the decision was made to release underperforming import Walker (9.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists) and fire head coach James Duncan.

Walker was replaced by Andrew White (7.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.7 assists) and Duncan was replaced by General Manager Sam Mackinnon as interim coach, a move that lasted just three games before assistant coach and former Townsville Crocodile Greg Vanderjagt took the reins for the remainder of the season but the best of the Bullets season was behind them.

Reports of an untenable relationship between Bullets CEO Peter McLennan and Mackinnon become public and during that time, Brisbane suffered two catastrophic losses, one a 37-point loss to New Zealand which saw Sam Mackinnon suffer the biggest loss by a coach on debut since Alan Black in 1989 and the biggest defeat in the history of the NBL – a 49-point beating from Sydney. Brisbane finished second last again (8-20) with three of their eight wins coming against Illawarra, who recorded their worst season ever.

While Tyler Johnson (15.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals) was nominated for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award (won by Barry Brown Jr), it was a season of massive underachievement individually and collectively that saw a mass exodus of players at the end of the year.

In 25 games Gak averaged 4.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists with his best game for the Bullets came in round 13 against Melbourne United where he recorded 18 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX
2023/24
On 10 April 2023, Gak agreed to a one year deal with the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

“We are excited about the season ahead for Gorjok. He will fill a key role for the team next season playing behind Alan Williams, and provide the squad with a different look defensively,” CEO Tommy Greer said upon signing Gak.

“His ability to run the floor and protect the rim will bring a new dimension to us defensively. Gorjok has enormous upside and we are looking forward to working with him on that continued development,” he added.

Gorjak averaged 15 minutes across 17 games in an injury-interrupted NBL24 season.

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS
2024/25
Gak found a home in Tasmania for NBL25, replacing an outgoing Marcus Lee as backup centre to Will Magnay.

“Gorjok is a really athletic big man who brings a lot of size and length to our group. He really embraces that next man up mentality which he showed that during his season with Phoenix last year” Head Coach Scott Roth said on signing Gak.

“A great rebounder, shot blocker and will provide that extra rim protection for us”.

Gorjok Gak currently plays for the Tasmania JackJumpers and has played 47 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 4.4 points, 4 rebounds, and 0.7 assists since entering the league in 2022.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Tasmania JackJumpers – 2 Year Deal (2024-26)
2nd Year Team Option

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.