Luol Deng
The Guardian
What holds, and what fails, under pressure, standards and accountability.
Luol Deng embodies The Guardian by building what will outlast him. He self-funded South Sudan's national basketball infrastructure, organised refugee transport to independence polling stations, and signed a symbolic one-day contract to retire honouring Chicago. His current mission is explicitly framed around what does not yet exist, a first indoor court, junior pathways, durable systems. Deng's post-playing life consistently chooses preservation and protection over personal gain, the defining mark of a custodial leader.
“I always tell people I came from somebody who was trying to encourage people and motivate them and just give them something to be excited about. And that's really what I'm doing because I know where I came from.”
“I donated a lot of my money to get buses in all the areas where there's South Sudanese refugees — Chicago, Michigan, Australia, Egypt — to take people to the voting polls in order for us to vote and become our own country.”
“I called the Bulls and told them: just for the future, for everybody else, all players — they should be able to pick the one organization they felt was home and sign for one day. Just let that be my last stop.”
Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson & Darius Miles: “Luol Deng”
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