The South Sudan Men’s Basketball story is incredible. The youngest country in the world (established 2011) with a GDP of under $10B.
Former NBA player Luol Deng funded the country’s basketball program (travel, hotels, gyms) for years on his own and believes South Sudan can become a basketball powerhouse the same way “Kenya dominates in track and field” or “Jamaica does in sprinting”.
During his NBA career (2004-2019), Deng regularly ran basketball camps in the UK (where his family received political asylum after escaping Sudanese Civil War) and Africa.
A huge motivation for him to pursue basketball was that “everything said about Sudan / South Sudan was always negative” and he “wanted to succeed” as a way to put his “country on the map.”
Deng became president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation in 2019 and what they’ve been able to do in a few short years is amazing.
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Full interview here from 2023: youtu.be

Even after independence, South Sudan had a civil war between 2013-2020. A challenge for Deng to recruit is that many left during that period and have citizenship elsewhere (and may elect to play on those teams).
The National Team huge inspiration for the country: espn.com

@SSBFed x @LuolDeng9