Olympic basketball: Luol Deng sees South Sudan forging a ‘new story’

The Bright Stars, who began their preparations for Paris at the end of last month, will play Puerto Rico, the United States and Serbia in the group stage.

Their task is daunting, given the USA are 16-time gold medal winners – including at the past four Games – and have assembled one of the greatest basketball teams of all time.

Dubbed ‘The Avengers’ by the sport’s fanatics, the squad includes NBA stars LeBron James, Steph Curry, Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant.

“They are the best in the world and it’s a tough group,” said Deng.

“But, for us, it’s something special with the talent that we have.”

So how does South Sudan match up with the best in the world in the long term?

“We do have the product, but we don’t have the facilities to produce great players,” he continued.

“We can get good players but if we want great players at a number that we want, and the coaches [with] the knowledge, we must invest.

“I grew up in the UK and I went to the US. I had great coaches and the best facilities. I’m still a product of Africa, but the reason why I made it was because I was over there.

“So, for us to be in Olympics and compete is great, but to be where they are… we’re not there yet.”

The Bright Stars tuned up for Paris with an 84-81 win over Great Britain before falling to that 101-100 defeat against the USA in London.

“They tested us and it was a competitive game,” USA forward Anthony Edwards said after their clash at the O2 on Saturday.

“They have got some good players. They showed us we can be beat.”

Now the aim for South Sudan is to make further history in the French capital.

“Everyone has been celebrating us since we qualified,” Deng said.

“That’s all done. You have to have that mindset of ‘We have got to accomplish something else now’.”