BIO: Majok Deng was born in born in Bor, South Sudan and spent the first seven to eight years of his life in the country.

He moved to Australia in 2006 after spending a number of years living in a Kenyan refugee camp, settling in Adelaide with his mother and sister.

Was mentored by his Forestville Eagles teammate, former NBL star Rashad Tucker.

Deng In 2016, Deng returned from college and joined the Adelaide 36ers.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Majok Deng made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 23 years of age. He scored 13 points in his first game.

In the 2016 NBL off-season, the Adelaide 36ers managed to retain star point guard Jerome Randle, while also signing several promising players, including Anthony Drmic (younger brother of former NBL player Frank Drmic), Sudanese-born local talent Majok Deng, and import forward/centre Eric Jacobsen. They also made headlines by securing NBA Draft prospect, 18-year-old Terrance Ferguson from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ferguson, who opted to play professionally in the NBL rather than commit to college basketball, became the trailblazer for what would later become the NBL’s Next Stars Program.

Despite most predictions that the young and relatively inexperienced 36ers would finish at the bottom of the ladder, they defied expectations and emerged as a formidable team by mid-season. Early injuries to captain Mitch Creek (ankle) and Daniel Johnson (hamstring) contributed to Adelaide’s slow start (3-6), with a particularly rough loss to Brisbane (87-105) in Round 7 leaving them in last place. However, with a healthy roster, Adelaide quickly turned things around, avenging their loss to Brisbane with a comfortable win (101-83) in the next game and then embarking on an eight-game winning streak. By Round 11, the 36ers had climbed from last to first place, and by Round 16, they had won 14 of their last 15 games, securing the top spot on the ladder with three rounds still to go. Despite losing their last four regular season games, Adelaide finished first with a 17-11 record, two games clear of the rest of the competition.

Nathan Sobey (15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.0 steals) took full advantage of Creek’s absence, establishing himself as a key player for the 36ers. His production skyrocketed from 4 points in 10 minutes per game the previous season, and even after Creek’s return, Sobey remained in the starting lineup. His stellar play earned him a spot on the All-NBL Second Team and the NBL Most Improved Player award.

Majok Deng had a breakout performance in his debut game but struggled to consistently replicate that form throughout the season. He managed to score in double figures just three more times, finishing the season with averages of 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.2 minutes across 27 games. Jerome Randle (21.3 points, 3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists) led the team in scoring and was named NBL Most Valuable Player, becoming just the second 36ers player to win MVP (after Mark Davis in 1987). Daniel Johnson (15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds) led the team in rebounds, while Sobey’s improvement cemented him as a key contributor on both ends of the floor.

In the semifinals, Adelaide faced fourth-placed Illawarra. The 36ers took game one comfortably (93-78), with Randle delivering an MVP-worthy performance (26 points and 4 assists). However, Illawarra shocked Adelaide by winning games two (100-94) and three (106-98), ending the 36ers’ season in a stunning upset.

2017/18
In the 2017 NBL off-season, the 36ers retained a strong core of local talent, including Mitch Creek, Nathan Sobey, Daniel Johnson, Matthew Hodgson, Brendan Teys, Majok Deng, Anthony Drmic, and Adam Doyle, as they aimed to build on the previous season’s success. However, they parted ways with star import Jerome Randle due to salary demands that far exceeded the team’s budget. Randle chose to play in Turkey, and Adelaide replaced him with experienced guard Shannon Shorter. The roster was rounded out with imports Ramone Moore and Ronald Roberts, though Roberts was soon replaced by Josh Childress after suffering an injury.

Despite import challenges, the 36ers started the season with mixed results, winning half of their first 16 games. Injuries to key players like Creek and Drmic slowed their progress, but the team found its stride after a tough loss to Cairns on Christmas Eve. They won 10 of their last 12 games, including a seven-game win streak, securing second place on the ladder. Deng played 35 games, contributing 7.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game.

In the semifinals, Adelaide swept Perth in two games, including a dominant 109-74 win in game one, the second-worst finals loss in Wildcats history. A thrilling grand final series against Melbourne followed, with Deng leading the charge in game two, scoring 18 points to help Adelaide tie the series at 1-1. However, the 36ers faced significant challenges, including the loss of Josh Childress to injury in game two and the ejection of Nathan Sobey in game three.

Game three saw Adelaide fall in a tight contest (101-98), with Deng missing a crucial three-pointer at the buzzer. In game four, Adelaide bounced back with a comfortable 90-81 win, led by Johnson’s 29 points and 10 rebounds. However, in the decisive game five, Melbourne’s star trio of Chris Goulding, Casper Ware, and Casey Prather proved too much, as they secured a 100-82 victory, clinching the championship. Deng and his teammates fought hard but ultimately fell short in a memorable grand final series.

In the 2018 NBL off-season, the Adelaide 36ers entered a rebuilding phase following their narrow miss in the previous season’s NBL championship. The team saw several key departures, most notably second-leading scorer Mitch Creek, who pursued his NBA dream. After lengthy negotiations between Adelaide and Basketball Australia, Creek was granted approval to play in Germany with the understanding he would return to the 36ers for the 2018/19 season. However, his standout performances overseas attracted the attention of the Brooklyn Nets, who signed him to their G-League team. This led Adelaide to file an injunction to prevent Basketball Australia from approving Creek’s NBA deal without compensation, but eventually, a resolution allowed Creek to chase his NBA aspirations.

Other notable departures included Shannon Shorter (who moved to Japan), Josh Childress (who retired), and Matthew Hodgson (who joined Brisbane). To fill these gaps, Adelaide signed import Jacob Wiley (via Germany) to replace Creek, while Adris De León was brought in to boost scoring and playmaking. The team also injected youth into their roster by signing rising stars Harry Froling and Jack McVeigh straight from college.

Despite the roster shake-up, Adelaide retained key contributors, including Nathan Sobey, Majok Deng, Adam Doyle, Brendan Teys, and import Ramone Moore. Daniel Johnson, their leading scorer, returned as team captain following Creek’s departure.

The 36ers’ season kicked off with a home loss to Perth (91–99) in Round 1, but they bounced back with an away win against the Sydney Kings (94–83) in their next outing. In Round 3, Nathan Sobey produced a standout performance, recording a triple-double (22 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists) in Adelaide’s win over Cairns (91–83).

However, Adelaide soon encountered a rough patch, dropping four consecutive games, starting with a heavy loss to New Zealand (114–94) and ending with a narrow defeat to Brisbane (93–90) in Round 4. Injuries, particularly a calf injury to Ramone Moore, compounded their struggles. De León was given an ultimatum to improve, or the team would consider roster changes.

Although De León delivered a solid performance with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists in 25 minutes during a game against Sydney, Adelaide still suffered their fourth consecutive loss. Consequently, De León (who averaged 7.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists) was released, and former Illawarra import Demitrius Conger was brought in as his replacement. Shaun Bruce also joined the team mid-season to provide additional depth after three years with Cairns.

Adelaide’s inconsistency continued. After back-to-back wins against Cairns (109–95) and Illawarra (120–109) in Round 7, they lost a nail-biter to Illawarra at home (86–87). Despite a victory over Brisbane (101–91) in Round 9, another defeat to Illawarra (90–93) followed shortly after.

The 36ers found some momentum in Round 14, winning four straight games, including a critical win over Perth (97–84) and a blowout victory against Sydney (119–99). However, their inconsistency resurfaced when Melbourne handed them their worst defeat of the season in Round 16 (114–91), followed by an overtime loss to Brisbane in Round 17 (98–87 OT), which ultimately impacted their playoff hopes.

Majok Deng played a solid role for Adelaide throughout the season, contributing 7.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.6 assists. His best performances included a 20-point, 5-rebound effort in a win against Cairns (93-86), a 14-point, 3-rebound, and 2-block game in a victory over Perth (100-90), and another 14-point, 3-rebound outing in a loss to Illawarra (92-100). Deng’s ability to stretch the floor with his shooting and provide energy off the bench made him an important piece of Adelaide’s rotation.

Alongside Deng, the team relied heavily on Daniel Johnson (17.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), Jacob Wiley (12.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1 assist), and Demitrius Conger (11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists). Ramone Moore (9.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists) contributed whenever he was healthy enough to play.

Anthony Drmic (9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) and Harry Froling (7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds) also had productive seasons, with Froling earning the NBL Rookie of the Year award. Nathan Sobey’s standout campaign (16.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists) secured him a spot on the All-NBL Second Team, alongside Daniel Johnson.

Adelaide hovered between fourth and fifth place for most of the second half of the season before finishing equal with Brisbane at 14-14. However, the Bullets advanced to the playoffs due to a higher points percentage, bringing Adelaide’s season to an end in fifth place. Despite the disappointment of missing the playoffs, Deng’s steady contributions established him as a reliable presence in the 36ers’ future plans.

CAIRNS TAIPANS
2019/20
On 5 April 2019, Deng signed a three-year deal with the Cairns Taipans. Deng scored a career best 22-points with the Taipans who defeated the Wildcat’s in a rare road win (Oct 18 2019) and averaged 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Deng helped the Taipans finish with a record of 16-12 and end the regular season in third place.

2020/21
During the 2020/21 season, Deng started the season in the Taipans starting lineup, where played 22 games before being ruled out for six weeks with a partial tear to his left MCL (Feb 24 2021). The injury saw him miss 16 games, sitting out almost all of February to May as the Taipans struggled to find wins. Deng returned to play in the last 10 games of the season (nine of them were losses) and averaged 12 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. Cairns would finish the season in last place with a record of 8-28.

2021/22
After recovering from injury, Majok Deng re-signed with the Taipans on a new three-year deal (13 Jul 2021). Cairns underwent a rehaul prior to the 2021/22 season, the first move being Adam Forde replacing head coach Mike Kelly. Forde, who had spent the previous season coaching the Sydney Kings, was tasked with finding some new firepower for the Snakes after losing the team’s leading scorer Cam Oliver to the NBA the previous season.

Imports Tahjere McCall and Stephen Zimmerman were brought in, alongside Keanu Pinder (via Adelaide) and rookie Bul Kuol (Detroit Mercy) to bolster a Taipans core which already included Majok Deng, Kouat Noi, Nathan Jawai, Mirko Djeric, Jarrod Kenny and Scott Machado who was named team captain.

The Taipans struggled to generate wins all season thanks to a glut of player injuries which saw Cairns unable to field a full roster in any game that season. Despite the team’s struggles, Forde was instrumental in developing the Taipans younger talent, many whom delivered career-best seasons.

Majok Deng (14.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1 assist) had his best season to date, playing in every game for the Taipans and finishing second on the team in points per game and Keanu Pinder (10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists), went on to be named the NBL’s Most Improved Player after doubling his points and rebounds from the previous season.

Another breakout season came from Ben Ayre (6.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists), who joined the team originally as a unpaid training player after being recommended to the team by former 36ers coach Joey Wright. Ayre was elevated into the full-time roster as an injury replacement in April, before going on to break NBL records in his eight-game tenure. On 18 April 2022, in just his sixth appearance for the Taipans, Ayre scored a team-high 20 points to go with 10 assists, four rebounds, three steals and four three-pointers in a loss to Melbourne (80-92). The 26-year-old became just the third player in 2021/22 to record 20 points and 10 assists in a game (alongside Bryce Cotton and Jaylen Adams) and just the second Taipan in club history to register 20 points and 10 assists.

First-year player Bul Kuol (10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), who had been told he was not guaranteed to be part of the rotation or receive any minutes, also saw injuries thrust him into the lineup and quickly became one of the Taipans’ most important players. He would be rewarded at season’s end by being named Rookie of the Year.

Scott Machado (10.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists) sustained a heel injury in round two of NBL22, missing more than six weeks with the injury. In April 2022, he re-injured his heel and missed the rest of the season. Machado and Tahjere McCall (16.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2 steals), who led the team in scoring and assists, were selected as co-MVP’s of the team as Cairns finished in second last place (9-19).

2022/23
Adam Forde’s first season as head coach may not have delivered much on-court success, with the Taipans finishing last, but it laid a solid foundation that led to Cairns having one of their best seasons in NBL23. The team brought back key contributors Tahjere McCall, Majok Deng, Bul Kuol, Mirko Djeric, and the NBL’s Most Improved Player, Keanu Pinder.

Notable departures included Kouat Noi (to Sydney) and veteran Nathan Jawai, who was left unsigned by both the Taipans and any other NBL team. To fill these gaps, Forde signed promising big man Sam Waardenburg (three-year deal), who was highly sought after by other NBL teams but chose Cairns after being offered a starting role. The squad was further strengthened by college graduate Lat Mayen (Nebraska) and Jonah Antonio (Czech League) on multi-year deals, while Ben Ayre was elevated to the main roster following his impressive stint as an injury replacement last season. Imports Scott Machado and Stephen Zimmerman were replaced with DJ Hogg and Shannon Scott, and with the youngest roster in the league, Cairns surprised everyone with a series of upset wins to kickstart the season.

Despite being tipped by many to finish at the bottom, the Taipans started strong, defeating grand finalists Tasmania (106-84), South East Melbourne (85-76), and reigning champions Sydney (83-78), going on a 5-1 run with only one loss to Perth (76-105).

Round 1 #NBL23 – @CairnsTaipans at @JackJumpers
Majok Deng 26p 5r
(9/11 FG, 4/6 3P, 4/5 FT) pic.twitter.com/9QccvPe3bD

— Duncan Berg (@CoachDuncanBerg) October 3, 2022

Throughout the season, Cairns earned a reputation for snapping opponent win streaks, including halting Brisbane’s three-game run in November (90-82) and ending Sydney’s record 17-game road winning streak (94-88) in an overtime thriller.

The Taipans spent most of the season in second or third place on the ladder until a December ankle injury sidelined star Keanu Pinder. Despite media predictions that Cairns would slide down the standings without Pinder, the Taipans embarked on a five-game winning streak, defeating teams such as Adelaide (86-83), Illawarra twice, Brisbane (107-81), South East Melbourne (94-85), and New Zealand (85-83).

As the final month of the season approached, Cairns again lost Pinder, this time to an eye injury, preventing him from playing in the postseason. Cairns and New Zealand battled for second place until the final games, with Cairns beating Perth (84-71), only for New Zealand to overtake them with wins over Brisbane and Illawarra, dropping Cairns to third place. The Taipans would have to fight their way through the NBL’s inaugural play-in tournament to reach the semifinals. Without Pinder, DJ Hogg’s record-setting playoff performance (32 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) led Cairns to a 91-78 victory over Perth, earning them a spot in the semifinals against Sydney.

McCall dislocated his shoulder in the Taipans’ Seeding Qualifier against Tasmania and missed the opening game against Sydney. Without McCall, Xavier Cooks led the Kings to a 95-87 win. Game two saw a series of dramatic moments, including the ejection of Kings’ coach Buford, and Cairns responded with a 93-82 victory behind standout performances from Hogg (25 points, 8 rebounds) and McCall (20 points, 7 assists), forcing a decisive game three.

In the final game, Vasiljevic hit three crucial three-pointers, finishing with 15 points and five rebounds to lead Sydney. Cooks added 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Kings held Cairns to their lowest score of the season, winning 79-64 to advance to the Championship Series. Deng appeared in 32 games for the season, averaging 6.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game.

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS
2023/24
Deng opted out of the second year of his deal with the Taipans, to sign with Tasmania the following season.

“We are extremely excited to add a player of Majok’s talent for the upcoming season. He is a exceptional shooter and rebounder who can play multiple positions for us. His length and athleticism will add another dimension to our frontcourt. We also really admire his competitiveness and believe he has the values and work ethic that will resonate with the people of Tasmania.” said Co-CEO Jorrick Chivers upon signing Deng.

Majok would be the final roster player signed for the 2023/24 NBL season.

Majok Deng currently plays for the Tasmania JackJumpers and has played 229 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 8.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists since entering the league in 2016.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Tasmania JackJumpers – 2 Year Deal (2024-26)

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.