Luol Deng gets his picture stamped on special English Currency: NBA News
To honour the famous people who grew up in Brixton, England, the city recently honoured five celebrities by putting their pictures on a special set of English currency.
Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng was among those honoured. The other recipients of the unique honour were David Bowie, Lenford Kwesi Garrison and World War 2 secret agent Violette Szabo.
Deng, who face has been stamped on the five pound note, was honoured to receive the recognition;
“I am honoured to be featured on the new Brixton Pound notes. I grew up as a young teenager player basketball for the Brixton Topcats which marked the beginning of my career. So it is with great pleasure that I am helping to support the local community that played a vital part in getting where I am today.”
Deng is not originally from the United Kingdom. He was born in Wau, Sudan. His family moved to Egypt in order to escape the Second Sudanese Civil War when he was very young and after receiving political asylum, Luol came to Brixton, South London. It was there, he started his basketball career at the Brixton Basketball Club.
At the age of 13, Deng represented England’s squad at the European Junior Qualifying Tournament for Men and stunned everybody with his exceptional basketball skills. During the tournament, Luol Deng averaged 40 points and 14 rebounds and clinched the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
From there began a story of success and Deng moved to United States at the age of 14. In his collegiate career, he played for the Duke in the 03-04 season, before he made himself available for the NBA Draft in 2004. He was picked up at number seven by the Phoenix Suns and immediately sent to the Chicago Bulls.
In his sixth pro year last season, Deng was exceptional. He was one of the major reason, Bulls once again established themselves as the elite of the Eastern Conference and went till the Conference Finals.
He also played for Britain in the FIBA Eurobasket and when the 2012 London come, their basketball hopes will be solely resting on Deng.
Tags: