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Mangok Mathiang comes back to the NBL with the Adelaide 36ers

4 Nov 2026 · Coming Home

Mangok Mathiang is back in Australia. The Adelaide 36ers signed the Melbourne-born centre on 21 October for the rest of the NBL27 season, replacing Isaac Humphries, who retired.

Mathiang is 34, stands 208cm and plays for South Sudan. He has played in the NBL before, with the Illawarra Hawks and the New Zealand Breakers. He also played four games for the Charlotte Hornets in 2017-18 and has since played in Italy, Turkey, Israel, China and Rwanda.

He arrives from Rwanda as a champion. In May he scored 11 points and took 14 rebounds in the Basketball Africa League final for the RSSB Tigers, and he was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year.

The 36ers said they wanted a bench big man who does the hard yards. He says settling back in has been helped by familiar faces. "I think when you play with somebody before, it just makes settling in a lot more easier," he told local media. He has also spent time in Adelaide before, and his partner is from the city.

The club has not released the terms of the deal.

What it means for the move

Coming home has its own list of jobs, and it is easy to underestimate. Overseas bank accounts need a plan, either closed or kept, and any money left in a foreign currency has to be moved back or held on purpose. A partner may be setting up in a new city as well as a new country.

It helps to start before the last contract ends. Ask what happens to the housing and the car, check what is due back to you, and decide how to bring savings home so you are not rushed into converting everything on one day. Tax on the way home is a question for a qualified adviser.

Mathiang has teammates he knows and a city he has visited, which helps with the settling in. The admin still has to be done.

Sources