Quotes from Luol Deng

The best thing I learned from Manute was to be selfless. He was always about his people. He was about helping others.

I've never been in a place where I've walked in the street and actually feel home, where I don't feel like a refugee.

I'm a big believer in that I'm here for a reason, and I don't want to forget where I'm from.

We talk about players going broke, but we don't talk about why that is happening.

No matter what I do for the rest of my career, I think I'll always be a Bulls guy.

South Sudan is my home, and I am humbled to be in a position to help those suffering from lack of access to basic needs, especially the children facing severe acute malnutrition.

When people ask me where I'm from, I say I'm from the Sudan. But when they ask what my hometown is, I say London. It's where I lived, and it's where my whole family lived.

I am extremely proud to be a part of the NBA's first game in Africa. Coming from South Sudan and having participated in the Basketball without Borders Africa camps in Johannesburg previously, I am truly honored to be part of this historic event.

I know that, me being from Sudan and London, it's a big honour to have even made it to the NBA.

I only lived in Sudan until I was four years, so I cannot really relate to that. It is just a different lifestyle.

Being from the Sudan, there is a lot of stuff going on in Sudan, so I try to do a lot there with my foundation. That's my way of giving back.

You always - as a basketball player, as a competitor - that's where you speak most: on the court.

At 13, I concentrated on my school work and playing sports, which, to this day, is something I still believe is very, very important.

For me, I had a close family. There were others like me who were going through a lot of rough times, so we always came together. It was understood that we would overcome hate, as long as you surround yourself with love and what's real.

I never knew a regular childhood, but I was always surrounded by love.

A lot of freshmen will come in and say they can do what Carmelo did, but not everybody is Carmelo Anthony. He was a special player. Syracuse was a great fit for him.

A lot of basketball players have tendinitis. It's known as jumper's knee, and it just comes from all the pounding our knees take.

I play the same, contract or no contract, because trade-talk is part of basketball.

It's no good playing through pain if you're damaging yourself.

I was just a lanky kid, just tall.

I was always tall, but I had a real growth spurt between 12 and 14.

In England, I'm just another tall guy!

Playing defense hard gets me going offensively.

My whole life, I've been getting used to adapting. There are small differences, but culturally, the States and the U.K. are very close.