Wani Lodu Swaka Lo Buluk (born 9 June 2001) is a Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Darwin Salties of the NBL1 North. He is also contracted with the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL). Opting to forgo college basketball in the United States to begin his professional career in Australia, he made his debut for the Perth Wildcats in the NBL in 2018. He won two NBL championships with the Wildcats over three years before joining the Sydney Kings in 2021 and winning a third championship in 2022. He also helped the Warwick Senators win the West Coast Classic in 2020.
At the 2018 Under 18 National Championships, he helped Western Australia win the title, the state's first since 2001, scoring 16 points in the gold medal game.[6]
Professional career
In the lead-up to the 2018–19 NBL season, Swaka Lo Buluk played for the Perth Wildcats during the pre-season when a large portion of the squad was on international duties.[1] In December 2018, he joined the Wildcats as a development player and became the youngest player to debut for the team at 17 years old.[1] He also became the sixth youngest player in NBL history to score on debut.[7] He played four games during the season and received minutes in Game 3 of the NBL Grand Final series against Melbourne United.[6] He was a member of the Wildcats' championship-winning squad in March 2019.[8][9] Following the season, he signed a scholarship agreement with California Baptist University.[10]
On 15 July 2019, Swaka Lo Buluk signed a three-year contract with the Wildcats, opting to forgo college basketball in the United States to begin his professional career in Australia.[6] However, on 3 September 2019, he was ruled out for three to four months after injuring his right ankle at pre-season practice. He suffered a torn syndesmosis and underwent surgery.[13] He returned from injury to make his 2019–20 season debut on 21 December against Melbourne.[14] On 15 February 2020, in the Wildcats' regular-season finale, he made his first NBL start and recorded eight points and four rebounds in a 94–79 win over the Adelaide 36ers.[15][16] In March 2020, he was crowned an NBL champion for the second year in a row.[17][18] He averaged 1.9 points in 13 games during the season.[19]
He re-joined the Warwick Senators in 2020 and helped them win the West Coast Classic. In the grand final, the Senators defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 96–81, with Swaka Lo Buluk recording nine points and six rebounds.[20][21] In 13 games, he averaged 10.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.[12]
Swaka Lo Buluk missed pre-season action leading up to the 2020–21 NBL season due to a groin aggravation.[22] He helped the Wildcats reach the 2021 NBL Grand Final series, where they lost 3–0 to Melbourne United.[23][24] He averaged 1.3 points in 33 games during the season.[19] The Wildcats decided to not take up the club option on his contract following the season, making him a free agent.[25]
For the 2022 NBL1 North season, Swaka Lo Buluk joined the USC Rip City. In 11 games, he averaged 12.55 points, 3.55 rebounds, 1.82 assists and 1.55 steals per game.[31]
^Salt, Hannah (22 December 2019). "Tough loss for Wildcats". coastlive.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Wani Swaka Lo Buluk played three minutes in his return from an ankle injury.
^"Undermanned Wildcats thump Sixers". Wildcats.com.au. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2021. At just 18 years of age, young gun Wani Swaka Lo Buluk picked up his first NBL start and made the most of it with eight points.