South Sudan Men’s National Basketball Team – You Should Know About It

South Sudan, with just 13 million people, may not be known for its basketball skills, but that changed Saturday when its Bright Stars nearly pulled one of the biggest upsets ever in tournament history.
Luol Deng served as president of a basketball federation without an indoor court and appointed Royal Ivey – who coaches at Duke – as head coach of its team.

Carlik Jones

South Sudan made its Olympic debut emphatically, defeating Great Britain and smashing home team France 4-0 during their two exhibition games this week. Led by NBA All-Star Luol Deng, South Sudan set an essential precedent in Paris.

Carlik Jones is a 2024 two-way player for the Chicago Bulls and the point guard of South Sudan’s most talented roster. A key contributor in their qualifying effort for Olympic qualification, he played a pivotal role as South Sudan pipped USA with an exciting come-from-behind victory at London.

Dallas Mavericks draft pick Darius Clark made his mark in the NBA G League, earning 10-day contracts from both teams (Mavericks and Nuggets). An energetic point guard with great footwork who can play multiple positions, Clark was instrumental in South Sudan’s comeback – scoring three double-doubles while making some key shots at crucial moments during a tight match-up against Sudan.

Wenyen Gabriel

South Sudanese national basketball team members share impressive personal stories. Wenyen Gabriel, the point guard, fled his home country with his family due to civil unrest before moving to Manchester, New Hampshire, with a significant South Sudanese population. Now working for ROSS Leaders- an organization using sports programs and partnerships to assist refugees and displaced people globally- Gabriel works alongside them on ROSS Leaders programs designed to support refugees.

Gabriel almost created history for South Sudan against Team USA when he rebounded LeBron James’ last-second shot attempt, and the referees swallowed their whistles, leading to American victory. Gabriel was quickly applauded by teammates and NBA stars like Bam Adebayo and Joel Embiid; later, he expressed how this experience taught him more about himself and South Sudan; in turn, he hopes that he can return the favor by helping South Sudan thrive and prosper.

JT Thor

South Sudan made their FIBA World Cup debut in 2023 and went 11-1 through classification play – including an upset victory against African rival Angola. Led by former NBA All-Star Luol Deng and coached by Houston Rockets assistant Royal Ivey, South Sudan qualified for Paris with that performance and could make an impressionful showing this summer.

South Sudan nearly pulled off an upset on Saturday despite trailing throughout. Marial Shayok scored a late three-pointer and jumper to cut the American lead down to two. Unfortunately for South Sudan, though, JT Thor (currently playing for Charlotte Hornets but is a free agent now) scored the game-winner three-pointer and claimed victory for the Americans.

The U.S. managed a close 101-100 victory, led by LeBron James’ late layup (which earned four Olympic gold medals). Next up for Team USA will be Germany on Monday before beginning the Olympic competition proper.

Khaman Maluach

As a child growing up in Kawempe, Uganda, it was hard for Khaman Maluach to play basketball due to courts with limited lighting and no running water. Still, one boda boda motorcyclist saw him watching Luol Deng of South Sudan, who now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, at a camp and encouraged him to continue with basketball.

He now leads a national team that made its international tournament debut at AfroBasket 2021 and invited him to NBA Academy Africa, where he’ll combine basketball with education.

His teammates include Wenyen Gabriel, who fled South Sudan with his mother and siblings as a child to Egypt, and Nuni Omot, who was born in a refugee camp in Kenya; these players possess unique spirits that could propel them further than many expect at the World Cup.