Triumph and despair: Luol Deng
I was born in Sudan, but sadly I don't remember anything about my homeland. I had to leave there with my mother and eight brothers and sisters when I was only three years old. As the civil war in Sudan got worse, my father, who was a government minister, thought we would be safer if he sent us to Egypt. He stayed behind in Khartoum and a year later was arrested and jailed for three months following a military coup.
We settled in Alexandria, on Egypt's Mediterranean coast. It was a difficult time for all of us. The whole family was crammed into an apartment with only three rooms. I missed my father and was worried about him, but we helped each other keep strong. It was in Egypt that I first picked up a basketball. I used to go along to a dusty outdoor court to watch my older brothers play and sometimes they would let me join in.
I can vaguely remember my mother telling us we were moving to England to be with my father again when I was eight. I was so excited. He had managed to get himself out of Sudan and claim political asylum for all of us in England. We were given a home in South Norwood in south London. It was amazing to be surrounded by so much modern stuff, such as the cars and the tube.
We immediately felt welcomed in London. Of course, people didn't come up to you on the street and shake your hand, but we felt comfortable and safe. I never felt like an outsider. This was my new home. The only problem I had was that I didn't speak English, but I soon learnt it and my brothers would laugh at my new accent.
At first, I was more into football and became an Arsenal fan – I stuck a poster of Ian Wright on my bedroom wall. I was pretty good at the game, too, and all the other kids wanted me on their team in the school playground. But as I grew taller I decided it would be wiser to concentrate on basketball. I made my way to the Brixton Recreation Centre and started playing for the Brixton Topcats. That was really important because it was a place I could go to express myself. It helped me fit in and I liked being good at something.
It was there that I was discovered by an American scout, who offered me a basketball scholarship to a high school in north-western New Jersey, about 70 miles from New York city. It was called Blair Academy. I arrived there on my own when I was only 14. At the beginning I was homesick, but I was determined not to waste the chance I had been given. I made sure I worked harder than anyone else. If you're from England you can't be just as good as the Americans, you have to be better. I woke up at six every morning to get in extra practice before a day of classes.
By my senior year at Blair I was ranked as the second-best high school basketball player in the US behind LeBron James. He went straight in to the NBA [and was rookie of the year in 2004], but I thought I wasn't ready to be a professional and went to college instead. I had offers from more than 100 of them, some would follow me and wouldn't stop calling, but in the end I chose Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who stayed above all of that.
After just a year in college I decided to put myself into the NBA draft. It meant that last summer I found myself sitting inside Madison Square Garden waiting to hear my name called out. I was eventually picked seventh by the Phoenix Suns, who immediately traded me to the Chicago Bulls. In that moment I felt like I could finally breathe, I felt like I had been holding my breath for so long. The NBA had once seemed so far away, but I never doubted I would make it.
I made my debut for the Bulls in November. I had been waiting for this my whole life. I remember I used to lay in bed wishing I was older, so it could happen. I couldn't help looking around the United Centre and thinking: 'Man, this is where Michael Jordan played!'
I've felt comfortable among the league's current stars, such as Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Not long ago I could only watch these guys on television and now I'm playing against them. But I feel as if I belong here and I think I have proved that with my performances for the Bulls so far. I guess I am living my dream, but there is still so much more that I want to achieve.
I don't like to think what I would be doing if I had stayed in Sudan. I could have had to fight a war. My life would have been very different. I have been so fortunate to be given this opportunity when others are struggling to survive. Sometimes I do see myself as the chosen one.
My life has been a tough journey, but a good one. It has helped me mature that much quicker. I see what I have been through as a blessing. It is a gift to help me see things more clearly. I know that it would be such a waste if I didn't use my position to help other people. This is why it is so important that I now help raise awareness of what is happening in Sudan.
The life facts
Luol Deng was born in southern Sudan in 1985. He fled the civil war there with his family in 1988 and after six years in exile in Egypt they were granted political asylum in the UK. After growing up in south London he took up a four-year high school basketball scholarship in America in 1999. On graduating from Blair Academy in New Jersey he spent a year at Duke University in North Carolina. Last summer the Chicago Bulls signed him to a three-year contract worth 6ドル.1 million (3ドル.2m). He has quickly established himself as a starter and, averaging an impressive 12.2 points per game, is ranked as the NBA's third-best rookie.