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.
— Luol Deng
I was always tall, but I had a real growth spurt between 12 and 14.
At 13, I concentrated on my school work and playing sports, which, to this day, is something I still believe is very, very important.
I think everyone in this league should aim to become good enough to shoot for the MVP. Not everyone can do it, but you've gotta try your hardest.
Man, I hate vegetables.
I don't like sneaking up on people.
I was very skilled at football at a young age in Egypt. I never played with a real ball. We used rolled-up socks or a balloon with a towel ducktaped to it, and we played on concrete in bare feet.
Whatever the issue is, whether it's Ebola or something else, I just want to get involved. Sometimes, even if it's just my time or my words, if my involvement changes people from donating $1 to $2, then I'll do it.
My older brother played professionally in Europe. My other older brother went to UConn on scholarship, finished his education in political science, then he went on and played in Europe for years. My other brother played in Europe.
I love a fry-up. They don't do them in the States.
In the States, I get recognised all the time. I met a fan once who had a tattoo of my face on his arm. I can see how some people get carried away with it, but I don't have trouble staying grounded.
There are so many kids in Africa who adore these athletes in the NBA and see themselves in them, even though we're so far removed.
When we were in Egypt, we were refugees. My family and I were homeless. For five years, out of all of the countries in the world that my father was contacting, the only one that took us in was England.
From where I came from, the way I was raised, when somebody does something for you, you always want to give something back to them.
I have friends growing up in Egypt. I have friends in England. And they just can't believe that what I used to say, it used to be almost like a joke. I used to say I'll be in the NBA one day.
I really feel great when I help somebody.
I've seen players in the past who wanted to stay with their team, and it didn't work out.
In basketball, the legs are the most important part of your body. A lot of people think it's the upper body because you shoot with your arms, but your legs are always carrying you, so if you don't lift leg weights, your muscles will be easily fatigued.
I don't think it changes who you are inside. But when you have a lot of money, it makes a lot of things easier. That's why everyone wants to be successful.
I always said if I didn't focus on basketball, then it would have been football. I was pretty good and was asked to go to England trials.
I play the same, contract or no contract, because trade-talk is part of basketball.
I wouldn't like to be invisible for a day. But if I was... I'd probably be up to no good.
I don't play for recognition.
When I started playing basketball, I hated it because football had always been my sport.
To me, somebody can say what they want about me all day, whether it's my game or my personality or who I am as a human being.
I never knew a regular childhood, but I was always surrounded by love.
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.
I had this one teacher, and as I got older and translated things he used to say, it was racist and hatred stuff he was saying toward me and my brother.
A lot of people experience racism at different times on different terms.
I've played with a lot of injuries.
If someone shows me love, I always want to double that love.
I think injuries happen. You can prevent a lot of them, but some of them you can't.
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 know how to put the ball in the hoop.
Men from my tribe in Sudan - the Dinka tribe - are very tall, so you could say I was born to play basketball.
Life is about going through things and learning along the way.
It's no good playing through pain if you're damaging yourself.
I know that, me being from Sudan and London, it's a big honour to have even made it to the NBA.
Nobody ever remembers the worst film they ever saw.
Here in the U.K., I want basketball to get better. I want the kids to have more playgrounds. I want the kids to have more attention. I want basketball to be on TV more often. But I really don't care if I walk down the street and somebody recognises me or not.
I remember when I was a kid, as a refugee in Egypt, every day, there was always a hope that we'd get to leave tomorrow and we'd get to go somewhere.
I have friends who ended up playing professionally in the Middle East and Europe.
Egypt was tough without our parents. My brothers and sisters had to work day by day, and every time they collected a pay cheque, they brought it into the house and put it on the table. That's how we lived.
In England, I'm just another tall guy!
In Africa, kids don't look at black athletes and say, 'They're different from us.' They look at them and say, 'That can be me.'
I grew up in Brixton as a young teenager playing basketball for the Brixton Topcats, which marked the beginning of my career.
I work hard. I never want to live with that feeling that I've disappointed somebody.
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.
I try to let my highs not be too high and my lows not be too low. And I do that just because I try to control my emotions.
The older you get, the more you appreciate where you are and the more confidence you have in what you can do.
