On Aug. 5 in Johannesburg, South Africa, NBA players are set to compete in the NBA Africa Game, which will feature some of the best players on the planet playing for Team World, taking on players born in Africa and second-generation African players.
Los Angeles Lakers veteran forward Luol Deng was born in Wau, Sudan, now known as South Sudan, before moving to Brixton, South London.
Deng is one of the most successful African born players in the NBA, and it appears he will be one of the captains of the African team in the upcoming game, via NBC Sports:
Team Africa, captained by Luol Deng and Thabo Sefolosha, will be rounded out by Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder, Orlando’s Bismack Biyombo, Houston’s Clint Capela, Minnesota’s Gorgui Dieng, Toronto’s Serge Ibaka, Luc Mbah a Moute, most recently with the Clippers, Denver’s Emmanuel Mudiay and Dallas’ Salah Mejri. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, from Cameroon, is on the roster but won’t play because he is recovering from injury.
The World team will be captained by Dirk Nowitzki and Kemba Walker, while DeMarcus Cousins, Kristaps Porzingis, Kyle Lowry, CJ McCollum, Andre Drummond, Jaylen Brown, Wilson Chandler, Courtney Lee and Leandro Barbosa are all set to play in the game.
Deng is coming off a rough first season with the Lakers after signing a four-year, $72 million last offseason. Deng was a healthy scratch in the team’s final 15 games of the season after averaging just 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while shooting a career-low 38.7 from the field in 56 games.
As NBA Sports notes, the NBA Africa game will be played in support of UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and SOS Children’s Villages South Africa.