Early one Sunday evening, Mangok Mathiang answers his phone. Initially his tone seems disenchanted. His Charlotte Hornets affiliate ball club, the Greensboro Swarm, just lost a tight one against the Long Island Nets 125-122 at the Fieldhouse Arena. He tells me about the twists and turns of the game and his haul of 15 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals — a somewhat typical stat line he’s been able to produce nightly during his first G-League season in Greensboro.
His mind quickly turns to the week ahead like a reflex action, and he reels off a laundry list of to-do items: recovery, shootarounds, watching video footage to correct missteps, play walkthroughs, defence work, pep talks and locker room banter. After being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets on a two-way contract on August 2, 2017, Mathiak has played 35 games with the Swarm and has accrued 3.3 minutes in three games with the Hornets. He spends most of his time living in Greensboro, a blue-collar city 92 miles north of Charlotte, and when he gets the call up, he stays in a hotel next door to the Spectrum Center, the Hornets’ home court. He admits it might seem like a complicated arrangement but he’s now so firmly set in this routine that it just feels normal.
For a 25-year old rookie entering new territory, he gets it. He knows he’s in a holding pattern; grinding, building up reps, clocking up minutes to get better while keeping his body in peak condition. It’s all about being ready for The Call. But opportunities like that take luck and time. Sometimes they don’t even come at all. Mathiang is playing the long game, absorbing every minute of this NBA ride.
“It’s all a blessing. What I’ve been through, all of that has basically lead to this position,” said the South Sudanese-born Australian. “My number one goal is to never be satisfied. For me, I’m just taking it day by day as much as I can; whether I’m up in Greensboro, or down in Charlotte, I’m enjoying myself.”
After four years at the University of Louisville, Mangok signed with the Hornets in 2017. He became one of two Sudanese-born Australians to be drafted to an NBA roster, joining Milwaukee’s Thon Maker; the gifted 7'1" center who can drop threes and has the athleticism of a Kevin Durant. But there’s been other Sudanese NBA players that have impacted the game such as two-time All-Star Luol Deng, and defensive center Manute Bol, who twice led the NBA in blocked shots.
During his time with the Louisville Cardinals, Mathiang evolved into a complete player. On the court, he was loud and bought into trash talk. Off the court, he was studious and wanted to be a sponge for feedback. After some setbacks – he suffered a broken foot twice – Mathiang only played 10 games in his third season, but it was his senior year where he finally started to show glimpses of the offensive skills he could bring to the table. Cardinals coach Rick Pitino gave him more freedom, and with an expanded role, Mathiang contributed an average of 7.8 points, 6.0 rebounds on 67.1 percent shooting. After a Louisville NCAA win last year, when Mathiang put up 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, coach Pitino talked about how the big man’s game had progressed through adversity.
Sitting in the locker room after Mathiang’s final NCAA game in 2017 a reporter asked him if he was surprised at how far his game has come. Mathiang told him, “throughout my whole career being here, I was known as a guy who had no clue what he was doing offensively, but this season showed people differently and opened their eyes.”
After the summer training with the Hornets and landing on an NBA roster, it only took one game into the Swarm’s 2017-18 season for Mathiang make his coaches pay attention. He opened the year with an 18 point, 11 rebound night which was the backbone of the Swarm’s 123-88 romp over Canton Charge. That night he shot at 75 percent. Throughout the month of November Mathiang continued to roll on and mix defence with offence. He averaged 11.6 points and 9.5 rebounds in nine outings, with four double-doubles (just missing out on three more), scoring in double digits on seven occasions. Then there was the Windy City Bulls game right before Christmas – a dominant Mathiang delivered a 28 point, 11 rebound night, on 57 percent shooting.
Every NBA player has a path and Mathiang’s path started in South Sudan in 1992. He was the middle child in a family of five kids. The Second Sudanese Civil War had emerged, eventually becoming the longest civil war in history. The war displaced four million people in Southern Sudan and millions more perished through famine and conflict. Mathiang doesn’t remember much of his time there, as his family moved to Egypt when he was five. To know Mathiang is to know where his roots are: South Sudan has more than 60 local dialects; their national soccer team FIFA rank is 153rd; wrestling is considered a heritage sport; and investing in herds of cattle is considered wealthy. After one year in Egypt, Mangok's mother Grace Mathiang moved her family to Australia.
Mathiang spent his childhood in Melbourne. He was instantly drawn to soccer, and stuck with the round ball sport until seventh grade. He inevitably discovered AFL and played for the Yarraville Eagles Football Club with good friend and North Melbourne ruck Majak Daw. Mathiang was initially less-enthused about basketball, but continued to grow taller. Through the advice of friends and his brother, he started playing pick up hoops at local courts, and began playing for the Longhorns Basketball Club, named after Sudan’s long-horned cattle. The club was born in 2003 to support Sudanese kids who had migrated to Australia, and became an instant family for Mathiang.
"He would play footy and basketball. I noticed he was very competitive and played both sports the same way,” said Longhorns founder Manyang Berberi in an interview in 2015. He also referred to Mathiang as a “keen competitor” and “natural defender.”
At 17, Mathiang won a U.S. high school basketball scholarship and left Melbourne to pursue a new dream: making an NBA roster. After playing for a few high school teams, including Victory Rock Prep, Mathiang accepted an offer from college basketball coach Rick Pitino at Louisville University, granting him his first legitimate opportunity to prove himself as a potential NBA talent.
Asking head coach of the Greensboro Swarm, Noel Gillespie about Mathiang’s first season in the G-League, the first thing he said was he is number one for energy.
“He’s athletic, he’s a big guy, he's got a nose for the ball, he has hustle and activity and is someone I know the Hornets want to invest in his development,” said Gillespie, who was hired after 14 years in the NBA as an assistant at the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns. “During his Louisville time, wasn’t as highly touted as some of the other payers in the draft. But because of his skillset, his length, his athleticism, being a rim protector, he’s worth the investment.”
Mathiang has drawn comparisons to Oklahoma’s Steven Adams and Houston’s Clint Capela: underrated bigs that roll to the basket, set screens and provide dirty rebounding and rim protection. Even in the modern NBA game of small ball, Gillespie said that these kind of role players like Mathiang still have value and give teams flexibility with spacing and shooting. According to Gillespie, becoming the next Adams or Capela is well within Mathiang’s reach with the right luck and work.
The Swarm’s philosophy is simple: now you’re a pro, this is your job. The ball club thrives on accountability and work. No players are gifted minutes; they are earned. Gillespie has noticed Mathiang getting frustrated at times, learning a new system, but because he has embraced a strong work ethic he’s given himself every chance to flourish.
“We see the daily improvement in him and it’s not going to pay off right away, but maybe two or three years down the line,” he said. “He’s been great. With the schedule – the buses and airports – it can wear on guys. Mangok is very outgoing. He keeps it light. For him to always have an upbeat attitude, he brings his teammates closer together and loosens the mood.”
Everyday Mathiang gets a ping on his phone from an app called Daily Verse that sends him doctrinal scripture. Words that inspire him to stay the path. Words that keep him thinking positive thoughts. Everyday he reads them as a reminder to live in the now and be grateful for what he’s accomplished so far. Mathiang, a late-bloomer, has battled two breaks to his feet which is something he’s never forgotten and something he hopes won’t happen again in his career. He knows he’s not invincible and injuries can end a career in a heartbeat.
“It’s my hard work that got me here. I’m trying to be the best player I can and be the best person I can, which is bigger than basketball,” he says. “As a kid, I wanted to be in the NBA, which was great, but now I’m here I’m really excited. I’m going to enjoy it man. You never when it’s going to be taken away. And if they do take it away I want to make sure people do remember me."
