- Contracted the rare disease as a baby
- Family was struggling to pay the bills
- SOS from desperate Dad led to big-time help
Kouat Noi has become a breakout star of Australian basketball and will play a key role in the Sydney King’s aspirations of going back-to-back in the NBL, but he has revealed he is only alive because of the actions of an NBA icon.
Noi is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player who began his professional career in 2019 with the Cairns Taipans in NBL before joining the Sydney Kings in 2022, contributing to their 2023 NBL championship win.
He was named in the preliminary training camp squad for South Sudan ahead of the Paris Olympics.
But the 27-year-old has revealed he is lucky to be alive, let alone playing competitive basketball, after contracting a killer disease as a baby.
Noi contracted a rare blood pressure condition that left him fighting for his life in a South Sudan hospital.
‘Dad later told me I was very close to dying – I had no oxygen,’ Noi told News Corp.
It placed his family in a difficult position, with bills mounting up and their young son not getting any better.
So desperate father Ater Dhiu made a phone to his good friend and NBA superstar Manute Bol.
Australian basketball star Kouat Noi, pictured with his faugher Inayah, treasures life today
The Sydney Kings NBL championship winner was fighting for his life when he was a baby
Noi’s father put in a desperate phone call to his friend and NBA star Manute Bol who rushed back to Sudan to pay for Noi’s medical treatment
Bol, born on October 16, 1962, in Turalei, Sudan, was a professional basketball player and one of the tallest players in NBA history at 7 feet 7 inches.
He played in the NBA from 1985 to 1995 for teams including the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat.
Bol was known for his exceptional shot-blocking ability and led the NBA in blocks per game twice during his career.
Outside the NBA, he also played briefly in other leagues, including the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and the United Kingdom’s National Basketball League (NBL).
And when he received the call from Dhiu, he jetted straight back to Sudan to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills to save a young Noi’s life.
‘God rest Manute’s soul – if I could thank him for saving my life I would,’ the Sydney King star said.
‘Dad used to play basketball with him in South Sudan and they’d built a relationship.
‘He told Manute my son has been in hospital for three months and he is going to die soon if there is no support.
‘He put his hand up and gave the doctors all the medical payments to help me.
‘Then before you knew it I started getting better.’
Noi is a popular part of the Sydney Kings roster and has aspirations to represent South Sudan
Now Koi is hopeful that one day he and Manute’s son Bol can one day represent South Sudan on the big stage together.
‘If I can cross paths with his son Bol and we could play in the same team that would be so special,’ he said.
‘Bol got invited to play for South Sudan at the Paris Olympics, but the Suns didn’t release him in time.
‘Hopefully I can play with him in the near future, so I can tell him the story of what his dad did for me.’
