Luol Ajou Deng OBE (born 16 April 1985) is a South Sudanese-British former professional basketball player. The small forward was a two-time NBA All-Star with the Bulls and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in what is now South Sudan, Deng fled the country with his family as a child, eventually settling in the United Kingdom. He became a British citizen in 2006, and has played for the Great Britain national team.
He earned his millions in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Luol Ajou Deng was born on April 16, 1985, in Wau, Sudan (now South Sudan). He was only eight years old when he and his family left Sudan to escape the civil war at the time, thus moving to Egypt and then settling in London. By the time he turned 13, he already represented England as a member of the Brixton Basketball Club. At the age of 14, he moved to the U.S. to hone his basketball skills further at Blair Academy in New Jersey. Thanks to his evident talent, Luol Deng was regarded as the second most promising high school senior in America after LeBron James.
Loul Deng continued on to Duke University to play basketball where he became the only freshman in the history of ACC to lead all rookies in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. After spending just one year at Duke, Deng declared for the NBA Draft.
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With the seventh overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns selected Loul Deng but promptly traded him to the Chicago Bulls due to a prior agreement. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2005 and was a two-time All-Star in 2012 and 2013. Deng split his 2013-14 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and after just a half season there joined the Miami Heat. He played with the Heat for two years before signing with the Lakers in 2016. Deng played his last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He would sign a one-day contract and retire as a member of the Chicago Bulls.
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Before the start of the 2008-09 season, Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls agreed on a six-year, $71 million contract extension. Luol Deng and the Miami Heat came to an agreement on a two-year, $19.9 million contract in 2014 and exercised the $10 million player option for the 2015 season. In July of 2016, Deng signed a four-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers worth $72 million.
Luol Deng earned over $166 million in salary over his 15-year NBA career.
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Having risen from humble origins, Luol Deng has actively supported and worked for various charities over the years including the UK's School Home Support, Lost Boys of Sudan, Basketball Without Borders, and the World Food Programme.
Luol Deng was appointed as president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation in November 2019 for four years. He is also depicted on one of the Brixton Pound community currency notes.
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Deng has been investing in real estate since his first year in the league in 2004. Today, he owns a portfolio of hotels, resorts, condos, and apartment buildings that are worth $125 million. But, this is not the end of the growth of his financial charts.
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In 2014, Deng made his first move in the investment market with his private fund company D3N9. Additionally, with D3N9, he also has his foot in real estate, including hotels, resorts, condos, and apartment buildings. Apart from his business ventures that put his gross net worth at $200 million, he also has a non-profit organization.
The Luol Deng Foundation is widely known for creating opportunities using basketball for the citizens of Africa, the USA, and the UK. Not only has Deng displayed his basketball prowess to the world but also how to be financially secure with the correct guidance and actions. The 2005 NBA All-Rookie First Team member has definitely come a long way.
From a war-struck Sudan to an All-Star level NBA player and businessman, this was Luol Deng’s story of $2 million to $200 million.
May God bless him and May God bless South Sudan πΈπΈ
Wow
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