In July 2024, South Sudan’s basketball team beat Puerto Rico in its first Olympic game ever. In the stands, the man who had helped build the team watched: Luol Deng.
Deng was born in Wau, in what is now South Sudan, and is from the Dinka people. His journey to the Olympics as a federation president began as a refugee.
Fleeing war
Civil war in Sudan forced Deng’s family to flee. They went to Egypt, where Deng met Manute Bol, the Dinka basketball player who had reached the NBA. Bol became a mentor and encouraged the young Deng.
The family later moved to Brixton, in south London, where Deng played football and basketball. At 14, he moved to the United States for high school basketball.
Duke and the NBA
After a season at Duke University, Deng entered the NBA draft in 2004 and joined the Chicago Bulls. He spent ten seasons in Chicago, becoming known for his defence, work rate and quiet leadership.
He was named an All-Star in 2012 and 2013. He later played for Cleveland, Miami, the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota.
Great Britain
Deng became a British citizen and played for Great Britain, including at the 2012 London Olympics, when the host nation entered a basketball team.
Giving back
Through his foundation, Deng supported basketball and education programmes in South Sudan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Federation president
In 2019, Deng became president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation, and he was re-elected in 2024. South Sudan became independent only in 2011, and its national team had few resources. Deng helped fund and organise it, bringing together players from the country and the diaspora.
A new country’s team
Many South Sudanese players had grown up as refugees in Kenya, Uganda, Australia, the United States and elsewhere. Deng’s federation brought them together under one flag, often paying costs himself when funding was short.
Paris 2024
South Sudan earned its Olympic place by finishing as the best African team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, climbing sharply up the world rankings. In Paris, the team beat Puerto Rico in its opening game, a result celebrated across South Sudan and among its refugees around the world.
Full circle
Deng came to London as a refugee boy and played at the London Olympics as a man. Twelve years later, he brought a team from the country of his birth to the Olympics for the first time.
