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New Los Angeles Lakers addition Luol Deng is paying it forward to the community by hosting a camp for the top high school basketball players in London, called the DENGTOP50 camp.
Born in Wau, Sudan, the 31-year old small forward has held the camp for three years running at the London Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.
Deng moved from his native Sudan to Egypt and then to London, where he stayed through high school before heading to Duke University.
He has represented the Great Britain National Basketball Team, most recently four years ago at the 2012 London Olympics.
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According to Joey Ramirez of Lakers.com, Deng wants to prove to the youth of London that he is just like them:
>“I just want them to know that I’ve been in a similar situation as them,” Deng said in a camp video. “I grew up here. This is the same gym that I used to try to sneak in and play basketball. And now we’re having camps in it. There’s nothing different about me with them.”
Many players from the camp have gone on to play at the college level in the United States and later pursue a professional basketball career in Europe.
A 12-year NBA veteran, Deng has career averages of 15.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He's a two-time All-Star, receiving the honors in 2012 and 2013 as a Chicago Bulls player.
He averaged 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a key cog in the Miami Heat rotation this past season.
