BIO: Mangok Mathiang was born in Melbourne (VIC). He later moved to the USA where he attended IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) as a teenager.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Mangok Mathiang made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 29 years of age. He scored eight points in his first game.

After two straight seasons of reaching the NBL semi finals, head coach Brian Goorjian would exit the Hawks, signing a deal to coach the Bay Area Dragons in the newly established East Asia Super League. Goorjian’s longtime assistant Jacob Jackomas would be elevated in the role of the head coach and look to continue the success of the prior two seasons. However, this wasn’t to be, as Illawarra would see a mass exodus of talent after the coaching change, retaining only Tyler Harvey and Sam Froling from the Hawk’s main rotation. Duop Reath (to Lebanon) and Justinian Jessup (to Spain) heading overseas, Antonius Cleveland (to Adelaide), Xavier Rathan-Mayes (to Melbourne), Harry Froling (to Brisbane) signing with other NBL team’s and the retirement of longtime Hawk, AJ Ogilvy.

Illawarra would replace the outgoing talent with locals Deng Deng (via Brisbane), Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (via Perth) and Mangok Mathiang, who had been playing in the NBL1 state competition as he recovered from a long-term injury before finalising the roster with imports Justin Robinson and George King.

The Hawks would split their opening games, losing to rivals Sydney (97–106) and then defeating South East Melbourne (85–72) behind a strong showing from Tyler Harvey (22 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists). The Hawks would then embark on a injury-riddled season which would see Justin Robinson require surgery on a meniscus tear in his knee, suffered in the Hawks opening game. Kevin White (via Perth) was brought in as a short-term injury replacement. Nine games later, Illawarra also made the decision to release George King (10.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists), who had struggled to overcome a persistent lower leg injury.

Former New Zealand guard Peyton Siva (9.3 points, 6.3 assists and 1.6 steals) would be brought in as a replacement for import Justin Robinson but managed only 11 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Adelaide, adding further salt into the wounds for the struggling Hawks.

By mid November, the Hawks still hadn’t won another game (1-9), and after playing through the first third of the season relying on Lachie Dent (4.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists), Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (4.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) and injury replacement player Davo Hickey (4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals). Shortly after, former Perth Wildcats import Michael Frazier II was signed to help cover the load.

In December, the Hawks were able to snap their nine-game losing streak and defeat Melbourne (93-79), who entered the game on a 0-4 losing streak. Sam Froling (29 points) dominated for the Hawks, scoring 16 in the first quarter at a efficient 64% from the field. Michael Frazier II (16 points) and Tyler Harvey (15 points) also played key roles in the win.

After appearing in 8 games, Frazier suffered a broken arm during a game against Adelaide, after colliding with two 36ers players and miss the remainder of the season. Frazier (17.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) was the Hawk’s highest-scoring player at the time.

It wasn’t until the third last game of the season that Illawarra registered another win, knocking off New Zealand in a nail-biter (78–76). A final minute Tom Abercrombie steal and dunk put the Breakers up with just seconds remaining, but a Tyler Harvey (25 points and 3 steals) match-winning heave sealed the win and produced one team’s highest moments of the season. Mathiang (15 points and 5 rebounds) was also a key contributor in the Hawks last win of the season.

Illawarra (3-25) would finish the year with the worst record in club history. Tyler Harvey (18.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals) led the team in scoring, Sam Froling (14 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) won the Hawk’s MVP award, while Mathiang appeared in 25 games and averaged 7.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks for the season.

Mangok Mathiang currently plays for the New Zealand Breakers and has played 55 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 7.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 0.5 assists since entering the league in 2022.

Dan Boyce (798 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.