Ottawa BlackJacks re-sign Deng Adel

The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced today that the team has re-signed Deng Adel for the 2026 Season.

The 6’7 forward from Khartoum, South Sudan, has spent four previous seasons with the BlackJacks and has been with the franchise since the 2022 season.

Adel is the franchise record holder for points with 964, rebounds with 356, assists with 319 and steals with 53. Adel has left his mark on the BlackJacks for the last four seasons, and has come prepared to do the same in his fifth.

In the 2025 season with the BlackJacks, Adel played in 21 games and averaged 13.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.

In the 2024 season with the BlackJacks, Adel played in just nine games, coming in halfway through the season and posted an average of 12 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

In the 2023 season with the BlackJacks, Adel played 17 games and averaged 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

In his first season with the BlackJacks and first season playing in the international basketball scene, Adel played in all 20 games and put up an average of 16 points, six rebounds and 4.5 assists.

Adel is no stranger to the world of international basketball. He has played across Europe and Australia, playing in the Australian NBL, the Bulgarian NBL, the Danish Basketligaen and the French LNB.

In his first professional season in the international basketball scene, he played for Illawarra, of the Australian NBL for the 2020-21. There, he averaged 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and two assists per game.

Then for the 2022-23 season, he played with the BC Balkan of the Bulgarian NBL. There, he averaged 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

Then he headed to France to play Boulazac Basket Dordogne in the French LNB for the 2023-24 season. There, he played in 40 total games and averaged 7.7 points, three rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Most recently, in the 2024-25 season Adel played in the Australian NBL, with the Brisbane Bullets. There, he played in 10 games and averaged 4.7 points and 1.5 rebounds.

Before moving to international play, Deng played in the NBA and NBA G League for three seasons. He began his career in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors and Raptors 905, their G League affiliate team in the 2028-19 season. Adel played 25 games with the 905, and started in 24 of them. He averaged 13 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He was then waived by the Raptors and signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He played 19 games with the Cavs in the 2018-19 NBA season, and started in three. He averaged 1.7 points, and one rebounds per game.

He then spent time with the Cavaliers G League affiliate team, the Cleveland Charge. He averaged 12 points, six rebounds and two assists across 12 games.

In the 2019-20 season, Adel signed with the Long Island Nets, the G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets. There, he averaged 11 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals.

For the 2021-22 season, Adel played with the Maine Celtics, the G League affiliate of the Boston Celtics. He averaged 7.7 points, four rebounds and 2.2 assists there.

Before playing professionally, Adel played three seasons with Louisville in the NCAA, from 2015-18. Across three years there, he averaged 11.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and two assists. In the 2017-18 season, and his final year playing in the NCAA system, he was a ACC All-Honourable Mention.

Born on February 1, 1997, the 29 year old played his high school years atVictory Rock Prep, in Sarasota, FL.