The United States and South Sudan will meet again at the Paris Olympics, almost two weeks after a stunning near-upset.
By Glynn A. Hill, The Washington PostMembers of the South Sudan team pose after they defeated Puerto Rico in a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France.
The result sparked concern from some American critics, and an outpouring of pride from the losing side, whose country became independent in 2011 following a 22-year civil war. Just 13 years after the country gained independence, the men’s basketball team will be its first in any sport to compete in the Olympics.
“I had to pay myself,” Deng told Sports Illustrated. “A lot of people didn’t see what the point was. They didn’t see the vision of it. Changing people’s mind on how things have been done in the past and making people believe that this could be something special was difficult. To be honest, most of the people I spoke with didn’t see how this was a good thing to get into.”
Guard Carlik Jones was born in Cincinnati to Sudanese parents. He won G League player of the year in 2023 while on a contract with the Chicago Bulls and spent last season with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China. When Deng first moved to the United States in 1999, he enrolled at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., and quickly became friends with Royal Ivey. The New York-born guard gave Deng his first pair of basketball sneakers and his family hosted Deng during holidays.
“It’s very humbling. I’m getting more out of this experience than anything I’ve ever done in basketball as a player in the NBA. This has been eye-opening and life-changing for me.”
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