Who is Jock Landale? The 7 Foot Australian Playing In The NBA

Jock Landale is an Australian professional basketball player plays for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA. He is a center, standing at nearly 7 feet tall.

On 25 October, Landale’s birthday, the Aussie big man cooked the defending champion Golden State Warriors, scoring 17 points in 22 minutes, to see out a Suns Victory.

So, who is Jock Landale and is he Australia’s next Andrew Bogut? Read on to find out.

Jock Landale Quick Facts

Name: Jock Landale
Age: 27
DoB: 25 October 1995
Nationality: Australian
Birthplace: Melbourne, Victoria
Height: 6 ft 11 in / 211 cm
Weight: 18 st 3 lbs / 116 kg
NBA Team: Phoenix Suns
Instagram: @Jocklandale – 49.5k followers

Who is Jock Landale?

Jock Landale is an Australian professional basketball player, who plays center for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA.

He went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft but went on to hone his craft in Europe and back in Australia in the National Basketball League (NBL). He won the NBL with Melbourne United in 2021 and was also the NBL Grand Final MVP.

His efforts saw him picked up by the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. He now plays with Chris Paul and Devin Booker on the title-contending Phoenix Suns.

Early Years

Jock Landale was born on 25 October 1995. He was raised in Geelong, Victoria and attended the Geelong Grammar School in Corio, Victoria.

He began playing basketball at an early age, playing with the Geelong basketball program. Starting to drift away from basketball, a growth spurt between year 9 and year 12 saw him grow almost a full foot, which seemingly reignited his passion for the game.

This helped to raise his profile, securing him a scholarship in 2014 to NCAA Division 1 Saint Mary’s College, in California. Other Australian basketball stars Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova also attended the college.

College career

Jock spent most of his freshman season on the bench, but enjoyed breakouts seasons in his second and third year.

In 2017, Saint Mary’s reached the NCAA tournament, a big achievement for the college and Landale was named in he first-team All-West Coast Conference.

His senior year was described by Damian Arenis of The Pick and Roll as, “what could be argued, the best season by any Australian in college basketball ever.”

Landale averaged a huge 21.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game and was named West Coast Conference player of the year. That year, Saint Marys also went on to win 18 games in a row, with Landale as their centrepiece.

This earned him comparison to former Australian No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut. However, despite Landale having an excellent post-game ability and three-point shooting credentials, scouts were worried that Landale’s athleticism – or lack thereof – may not translate to the modern NBA.

Early professional career

This showed at the 2018 NBA Draft, where Jock Landale went undrafted. He later described the draft night as leaving a “filthy taste in [his] mouth.”

Determined not to let it stop him, Jock Landale went on to play in Europe, for Serbian team Partizan, of the Adriatic Basketball Association (ABA). Following some nasty dunks on his opponents, and a season where he averaged 12 points a game, Landale was selected as one of the five best players in the ABA.

He also played for Lithuanian team Žalgiris, helping guide the team to a championship victory in Lithuania’s top division in 2020.

Landale returned to his native Australia, signing a one-year deal with Melbourne United in the NBL. Whilst there, he and the team won the 2021 NBL Grand Final, beating the defending champions, the Perth Wildcats. He also won the NBL Grand Final MVP Award and was awarded Melbourne United MVP for that season.

NBA career

His standout inaugural season in the NBL turned the heads of a number of NBA scouts, and Landale finally achieved his dream of playing in the NBA when he was signed to the San Antonio Spurs.

Joining the NBA proved to be a high learning curve. In an interview with ESPN, he said, “Having my minutes so erratic is the biggest lesson I’ve learned about myself… you’ve just got to be able to figure it our for yourself.”

Despite this, he established himself as the Spurs’ back-up center, averaging seven points and four rebounds from December 2021 to mid-January 2022. In March, Landale recorded a career-high 26 points against the Indiana Pacers.

In June, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a package featuring NBA all-star Dejounte Murray. A week later, he was then traded to the Phoenix Suns for cash considerations.

Phoenix seems like a great destination for Landale, he has, by his own admission, more freedom on the court and gets to play with all-stars Chris Paul and Devin Booker.

This has shown in his performances; on his birthday – 25 October 2022 – Landale recorded a monster performance against Steph Curry and the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors, recording 17 points and 7 blocks in only 22 minutes of play off the bench.

In an interview after the game, Landale joked, “I’m a terrible basketball player, but [the] point guards make me look good.”

Australian Boomers

Jock Landale has also enjoyed a prosperous career with the ‘Boomers’, Australia’s national basketball team.

He was a member of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Hopefully this is the first of many medals to come in the green and gold.

He also was the starting power forward for the Australian Boomers at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Jock Landale’s salary

Jock Landale signed a two-year contract with San Antonio Spurs – before being traded to Phoenix – worth $4,544,095 (AU $6,995,179) over two years.

This means for the 2022-23 NBA season, the Australian will earn $1,563,518 (AU $2,406,879).

Jock Landale’s Fiancée

Jock Landale is in a long-time relationship with fellow Australian India Maddern. The two went to high school together but supposedly they “never spoke”.

Landale has said, “She’s my best mate I’m extremely lucky to have fund her and it’s probably a good thing we didn’t speak back in high school,”

Jock Landale proposed to Maddern in January 2022, in New York’s Central Park.

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