Joseph Lual-Acuil Jr. (born 26 April 1994) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for Neosho County Community College and

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

Early life

Lual-Acuil was born in Wau,

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. Due to the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he was relocated to a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

in Uganda at the age of three where he lived for three years until his family moved to Australia. Lual-Acuil attended Kingsway Christian College in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. He was a soccer player growing up, but picked up the game of basketball after his soccer coach suggested he play for the team one year.

College career

Neosho County CC (2013–2015)

Lual-Acuil played two seasons for Neosho County Community College. In his sophomore year at Neosho County, he averaged 20.1 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocks while playing all 30 games. He was named 2015

Jayhawk Conference Jayhawk may refer to: *Jayhawker, originally a term for United States Civil War guerrilla fighters, later applied generally to residents of Kansas * Jayhawk (mascot), the mascot of many schools and their sports teams, derived from the term Jayhawk ...

Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot in the All-Conference First Team and All-Region First Team.

Baylor (2016–2018)

Lual-Acuil joined

in the summer of 2015, but sat out his first season for a heart condition. In his year off, Lual-Acuil focused on improving his fitness and strength. In his junior year, Lual-Acuil was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for games played from 12 December through 18 December. In 35 games played during the 2016–17 season, Lual-Acuil averaged 9.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game and helped the Bears to a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. On 5 March 2017, Lual-Acuil earned a spot in the 2017 Big 12 All-Defensive Team and All-Newcomer Team. On 17 December 2017, Lual-Acuil recorded a double-double and college career-highs of 31 points and 20 rebounds, shooting 10-of-15 from the field, along with three blocks and two assists in a 118–86 blowout win over

Savannah State ) , established = , closed = , type = Public university, Public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university , parent = University System of Georg ...

. Lual-Acuil finished his senior year averaging 14 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. On 8 March 2018, Lual-Acuil earned a spot in the 2018 All-Big 12 Third Team. He graduated with a degree in Health Studies and Kinesiology.

Professional career

Hapoel Jerusalem (2018–2019)

On 13 August 2018, Lual-Acuil started his professional career with

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

, signing a three-year deal. On 6 February 2019, Lual-Acuil agreed terms to join the Hungarian team

Atomerőmű SE Atomerőmű SE, sometimes shortened to ASE, is a Hungarian professional basketball team based in Paks. The team plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A, the highest professional league in Hungary. The team was founded in 1979 and has won the Hungaria ...

, but eventually the deal fell through.

Hapoel Galil Elyon (2019)

On 10 February 2019, Lual-Acuil was loaned to

Hapoel Galil Elyon Hapoel Galil Elyon ( he, הפועל גליל עליון), also known as Hapoel Nofar Energy Galil Elion for sponsorship reasons, is an Israeli basketball club. The team competes in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top tier of Israeli b ...

of the

Israeli National League Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

for the rest of the season. On 5 March 2019, Lual-Acuil recorded a season-high 27 points in his fourth game with Galil Elyon, shooting 11-of-17 from the field, along with eleven rebounds and three blocks in an 86–65 win over

Hapoel Kfar Saba Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל כפר סבא, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli football club based in Kfar Saba. The club competes in the Liga Leumit and plays home matches at Levita Stadiu ...

. In 19 games played for Galil Elyon, he led the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

in blocks with 2.3 per game, while averaging 16.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Lual-Acuil helped Galil Elyon reach the league finals, where they eventually were defeated by

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

Melbourne United (2019–2022)

On 20 August 2019, Lual-Acuil signed with

in Australia for the

2019–20 NBL season The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. Teams Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 Season with the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix. Off-season changes *The ...

. During the 2020–21 season, he was named

NBL Best Sixth Man The National Basketball League Best Sixth Man is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the 1996 NBL season The 1996 NBL season was the 18th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams co ...

and helped lead Melbourne to a title. Lual-Acuil averaged 9.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. On 30 June 2021, Lual-Acuil re-signed with United on a one-year deal.

China / Lebanon (2022–2023)

After playing for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in the

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus ...

, Lual-Acuil joined the Nanjing Tongxi Monkey Kings of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA) for the 2022–23 season. Following the CBA season, he joined Dynamo Lebanon of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

Return to Melbourne (2023–present)

On 12 April 2023, Lual-Acuil signed a two-year deal with Melbourne United, returning to the franchise for a second stint. On 7 July 2023, he was ruled out for four to five months with a right wrist injury.

National team

In 2022, Lual-Acuil was selected to play for the South Sudanese national team in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.

Personal life

Lual-Acuil's father,

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, was South Sudan's first Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management.

References

External links

Baylor Bears bio

RealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lual-Acuil, Jo 1994 births Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in China Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Basketball players from Perth, Western Australia Baylor Bears men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Hapoel Galil Elyon players Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players Melbourne United players Nanjing Tongxi Monkey Kings players Neosho County Panthers men's basketball players Refugees in Uganda South Sudanese emigrants to Australia South Sudanese expatriate basketball people in China South Sudanese expatriate basketball people in Israel South Sudanese expatriate basketball people in the United States South Sudanese men's basketball players South Sudanese refugees Sportsmen from Western Australia