Former NBA star Luol Deng has been paying for South Sudan’s basketball team and investing in the program for years, according to head coach Royal Ivey. Ivey told Donatas Urbonas of Basket News that Deng has funded the team’s necessities like travel, gym and exercise equipment, and much more. He praised Deng for the commitment he has shown to the program.
“Luol Deng has been funding this thing for four years out of his own pocket. He pays for gyms, hotels, plane tickets—everything. Kudos to Luol and the staff. We wouldn’t have been able to put this team together without them.”
South Sudan is a very new country, only gaining independence in 2011. Therefore, the availability of resources for basketball and athletics in general was always going to be a challenge for the players. South Sudan’s Wenyen Gabriel noted that the country doesn’t have any indoor basketball courts either.
Deng has shown a lot of support to South Sudan with his investment, and it has paid off massively. South Sudan’s basketball team qualified for the Olympics for the first time in their history and even pushed Team USA to the limit in a recent showcase game ahead of the Olympics starting.
South Sudan even defeated Puerto Rico 90-79 in their opening game, marking an incredible and historic achievement for the young nation. The fact that the game had started with the Olympic organizers playing the wrong national anthem at the start of the game, only to have it be fixed later must have motivated them even further.
Deng Stands Up To Arenas Over Comments
Recently, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas stirred up a lot of controversy after some very bigoted comments about the South Sudanese players and their basketball program. His comments drew criticism from a lot of former and current basketball personalities, as he reflected his opinions in very poor faith and showed a lack of respect for the players, coaches, and the country.
Luol Deng slammed Arenas for the comments he made about South Sudan’s basketball team, claiming that his words were hateful and racist. Deng has not only shown support to South Sudan with his wallet, but also his actions, and has become an incredible ambassador for the young nation.
South Sudan’s Olympic journey will be challenging, as they do not have the caliber of players to compete with the other dominant nations, at least on paper. But with their win against Puerto Rico, they have shown that basketball games are not played on paper, but are decided on the court.
The South Sudanese team will face the United States on July 31st at 5:30 AM EST. Considering how they tested Team USA in their showcase game a few weeks ago, don’t be surprised if they force the tournament favorites to lock in and be focused when they face them in Paris in two days.
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