Alex Greig
Last week Luol Deng became the first Briton ever to play in the NBA all-star game.
The fact that he was picked from a poll of the leagueÔÇÖs coaches shows his talent. Deng said: “It’s a great honour but I’ve always believed I am good enough to be an All-Star. For me, being selected and recognised as an All-Star meant a lot more to me than what I was going to show or do tonight on the floor.” ItÔÇÖs lucky he felt this way, as Deng, playing for the Eastern Conference side, featured for less than six minutes before succumbing to injury – he fell on the wrist that has been troubling him for a while. His team eventually lost a close fought 152-149 to the Western Conference side, in a match played out in Florida. Following the incident he said that ÔÇ£it was nothingÔÇØ but he still pulled out of the game as a precaution.
Deng had one assist during his time on court, but failed to score. Despite this, Deng still made an impression in this game, in part due to his choice of t-shirt ÔÇô one which sported an outline of the African continent. He risks facing a fine from the National Basketball Association for violating the dress code, but insists that “it was bringing something positive. There’s a lot of negativity going on in the continent of Africa and 10 seconds, whatever it was, on the screen was to bring something positive.”
Originally hailing from what is now South Sudan in Africa, Deng became a naturalised British citizen in 2006, having spent some of his childhood years in Brixton, South London. International basketball came early for Deng as he represented the England juniors aged just 13, before leaving to the US to pursue a basketball career. ÔÇ£For England to take me in as a refugee, to do that for my family is something that gave me an opportunity to be here today and do what IÔÇÖm doing.ÔÇØ
So it is that Luol Deng is keen for the Olympics to come around. He is one of the most successful British basketballs players ever, not only due to his all-star appearance, but also in terms of earning, coming in at number seven on the young-sportsman rich list 2011-2012 (he earns around ┬ú7.5m a year). HeÔÇÖs played eight seasons with the Chicago Bulls and team mate Derrick Rose holds that Deng ÔÇ£wants to do nothing but win, he’s one of the leaders on our team. One of the reasons we’re [The Bulls] successful this year is the way Luol is playing.”
Luol Deng is well and truly leading the British team forward. On the topic of the Olympics, he said: ÔÇ£I can’t wait, it’s another opportunity for us to show everyone that we can play basketball with the elite, the best of the best.” The British coaches will undoubtedly be thankful that Deng pulled out of the all-star game following his injury. Should Britain want to take something positive for this sport from the Olympics, weÔÇÖll need Deng to be on top form.
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