This story was originally published on July 22, ahead of South Sudan's historic first Olympic victory against Puerto Rico.
When Duke Blue Devils’ Khaman Maluach (now one of South Sudan’s top names) first picked up a basketball in late 2019 at a Luol Deng Foundation camp in Kampala, the Deng brothers, Luol and Ajou, didn’t immediately notice him among the dozens of talents living in Uganda.
It was around this time that former Duke and Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng was just beginning his tenure as president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation (SSBF). He was elected in 2019 and set about continuing the work he had been doing with his foundation since 2005, only now on a much larger scale.
At the time, Maluach, now a star in the Basketball Africa League, was 13 years old and remarkably tall for his age, but that didn’t make him an anomaly in the South Sudanese community. Less than five years later, however, Maluach would commit to Duke and become the face of the Deng brothers’ dream of uniting a divided country through basketball.
Luol Deng told ESPN: “I retired and I always did my basketball camps. I know a lot of South Sudanese players and I knew we could do something special.
“I want to help grow the game, but I want to use basketball to change the narrative and stories of South Sudan, but also find a way to bring communities together and for everyone to get something inspiring behind it.”
The hard work is starting to pay off, as Team USA saw at their USAB Showcase in London on July 20, where they won by just one point. LeBron James was forced to score a layup in the final minute to beat the South Sudanese, and while an exhibition game doesn't mean much, they'll meet again in Paris on July 31 and the Americans will certainly be a little more alert.
South Sudan are not a team to be taken lightly at the upcoming Paris Olympics and, in addition to Maluach, have a number of talented players on their roster, including former NBA player Wenyen Gabriel, and some faces that BAL fans will be very familiar with, such as Nuni Omot.
The work to get more players who qualify for the country to commit to the Bright Stars is ongoing and not easy.
Phoenix Suns' Bol Bol has been the obvious candidate that has eluded many attempts to bring him into the national team over the years, but he hasn't been the only one.
For example, Ater Majok, the 2022 Basketball Africa League (BAL) defensive MVP and former Los Angeles Lakers national team member, was unable to represent South Sudan because he had already represented Lebanon before his home country's national team existed.
Additionally, Luol Deng claimed that reigning BAL MVP Jo Lual-Acuil, who has impressed with the Sacramento Kings in the NBA Summer League, was left off South Sudan's training roster because he initially refused to represent the country in Paris, though he eventually reconsidered and the door remains open for the future.
“I think he changed his mind. We'll see. He wants to sit out but he said he didn't want to play, which is fine. For me, for everyone who plays for the national team, I want it to be a source of pride and for it to come from them,” Deng told ESPN ahead of South Sudan's pre-Olympic training camp.
“Whenever a player calls me and says, 'I want to play for Australia', or wants to play for any other country, I say, 'Go ahead', because for me what makes us so good is that every player wants to play and I find it difficult to say no, so when someone tells me they don't want to play, I prefer to take someone who really wants to play.
“I think there were a lot of things going on with Jo Lual-Acuil, but I think he wants to play now. The door is always open, so we'll see… We had to release some players, so I don't know if he can play. I need to go back to FIBA.
“We have sent all the names. The Olympic Games asked for all the passports, all the papers. We have sent everything… It may be too late. I don't know, we'll see.”
It's not out of the realm of possibility for last-minute roster changes to occur. Milwaukee Bucks draft pick Thon Maker revealed on X that he has filed an appeal of FIBA's decision that he cannot be cleared to play for South Sudan after previously representing Australia in competitions.
Majok Deng, another lanky South Sudanese-Australian, is part of the squad and played in Thursday's 84-81 win over Great Britain and Saturday's narrow loss to Team USA along with other experienced players Nuni Omot and Carlik Jones.
Makoj Deng told ESPN at the BAL earlier this year: “It's something bigger than me, bigger than basketball – bringing the country together. Playing with that on my shoulders would mean a lot to me, representing my country at the Olympics.”
The Maluach factor
Joining Deng, Jones and Omot is Maluach, the next-gen hopeful and 2025 NBA Draft prospect, described by coaches both inside and outside the national team as a highly curious player who thrives on the presence of experienced teammates.
Ajou, now an assistant coach for the national team, told ESPN that he watched Maluach as a camper: “I never paid attention to him, because a lot of kids are similar… He couldn't even dribble the ball, so we put him next to some of the coaches, just learning how to dribble and stuff like that, but it just shows how kids can develop.
“You never know: a kid can be on the sidelines and not do much, but he can have a huge IQ and learn things very quickly, and that was Khaman.
“Where is the [just over] four years [after playing for the first time] “It's unheard of. It's crazy how he is now. He's growing so fast. I use him as an example for the kids all the time.”
Maluach became the third-youngest player in FIBA World Cup history when he represented South Sudan in the Philippines last year, before turning 17, when Sudan achieved the best result for an African team and thus qualified for the Olympics.
He then committed himself to Duke, a decision whose potential benefits his mentor knew but which Maluach insists he made himself.
“When we had him last year, I pushed for him to be on the national team at 16, because I knew going to the World Cup would completely change his mentality and everything,” Luol said.
“The year after doing that, you could see he was playing with a spirit of improvement. He had reached a level in the World Cup where he knew he had to improve.” [to perform well at]. When he returned to the [NBA] Academy, he was a totally different guy.
“It was his decision [to go to Duke]I just shared with him my experience at Duke. I told him what it's like, the brotherhood, but I told him it's not an easy place to go to, but at the same time, when you go to Duke, there's a level of respect. There's a level of urgency in terms of having to win.
“The one thing I see in him – and I like it a lot – is that he is never satisfied. I have been with people who are affected by words and compliments. You can see that, for a 17-year-old boy, all those compliments don't matter and that's what I like about him.
“He's a down-to-earth, hard-working person, and anyone can be around him, which is a very good sign. I respect that a lot about him.”
More than just basketball for the world's youngest nation
Despite the presence of so much talent in its ranks, it was always going to be a difficult task to unite a diaspora of players who often hold dual nationality and grew up outside of South Sudan. In addition, the country is still in the process of overcoming divisions within its own borders.
South Sudan faced a long struggle to gain its independence, which it finally achieved in 2011, making it the youngest nation in the world. However, even after that, it was plagued by a civil war between 2013 and 2020.
The result was that a new generation of South Sudanese – including Maluach, who was born on 14 September 2006 – was forced to grow up outside the country, just as the Deng brothers and the Bol family had done, while the struggle for independence was still ongoing.
When Maluach traveled to South Sudan with his teammates to celebrate Olympic qualification, it was only the second time he had returned home since fleeing to Uganda as a child.
“I don't actually know what year I left South Sudan… I don't remember anything about moving to Uganda. All I know is that I grew up in Uganda,” Maluach told ESPN.
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South Sudan takes surprising 14-point lead over Team USA at halftime
Mareng Gatkuoth gives South Sudan a 14-point lead over Team USA after scoring a tough basket over LeBron James.
Basketball, however, has become an important means of keeping in touch with roots. The diaspora celebrated the success of South Sudanese players even before independence was achieved, but with a national team leading Africa to the Olympics, the country's pride in basketball has reached new heights.
“Sport brings people together. It allows people to see the possibility of working together. Competition makes people forget about other things. I think basketball has played a huge role in our peace and development over the past four years,” Luol Deng said. His brother agreed.
“If it wasn't for Luol, I don't think we would have gotten this far, not only because of his vision, but also because he funded the whole thing. The fact that he funded it and said, 'Hey, we'll get here at some point,' we have to give him credit for that because, at the end of the day, he wanted our people to see what sports can do for us.” [them]”Ajou Deng said.
“Even our president (Salva Kiir); the first time we went to see him – since we were [independent for] 11 years, 12 years or 10 years at that time. It is as if I had never received positive calls from other leaders since our independence.
“We had crises and all that, so he is very, very happy about that and he can see how many young people follow him and how much the sport unites everyone. Now, it's like more young people want to play.”
“Not only that, [but] So now you can use that model, not just for basketball, but also for young people to believe in themselves and in other things.
“If you just put your mind to something and concentrate on something, then you can also achieve things.”
South Sudan will face Puerto Rico on July 28, the United States on July 31 and Serbia on August 3 in the group stage of the Olympic Games.
