Luol Deng looked back in his NBA career particularly his stint with the Chicago Bulls, noting how Tom Thibodeau's arrival changed it all.
Per KC Johnson of NBCS Chicago, Deng looked back on the biggest highlight of his career.
“1st year making All-Star. It means a lot when you look back. When Thibs came to Chicago, it changed my career. As well as I had done in the past, I think it gave me almost like a label where people started believing in how hard I played.”
Deng on biggest individual highlight: "1st year making All-Star. It means a lot when you look back. When Thibs came to Chicago, it changed my career. As well as I had done in the past, I think it gave me almost like a label where people started believing in how hard I played."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 21, 2019
Deng was referring to the 2010-11 season — Thibodeau's first year as head coach of the Bulls. Prior to this, Thibodeau was an assistant coach to several NBA teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, among others. During this time, Deng had been in the league for several years. He was already putting up decent numbers and was considered a rising star.
It was Thibodeau who turned this potential into a reality. A year into the job, Thibodeau helped turned Deng into an All-Star in 2012. And not just that but Thibodeau found a way to utilize Deng's long arms and strength to turn him into an elite defensive player. Deng was also selected into the NBA All-Defensive Team in 2012.
Though Deng's career went on a downhill trend after leaving Chicago, it's still classy of him to remember of his former coach elevated his career.
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