On break from the NBA in the United States, Miami Heat's Luol Deng is still putting on clinics, but this week his audience are the kids of the South Sudanese community in Melbourne.
His visit comes ahead of the South Sudanese Australian National Classic tournament this weekend.
From Sudanese refugee to NBA all-star, Luol Deng has walked the path that many kids in Melbourne's refugee community hope to follow.
"Start running, start running. We're not here to walk through everything. We're here to get better."
A shared history connecting Miami Heat's small forward with the players from the South Sudanese Australian National Basketball Association.
Giving him scope for communication.
"I know what a lot of these kids have been through and to have someone like me who's playing in the highest level of basketball they look up to me. I gotta do whatever it take to spend a bit of time for them to really know what it really took for me to be in the NBA and how hard I have to work."
Deng's teaching skills to the kids, but he says talent alone won't get them to the NBA.
"It takes a lot of commitment and a lot of sacrifice. This is a huge world and there's a lot of talented players out there but what you do in terms of sacrifice will give you the edge."
It's something Melbourne United's newest recruit knows a little about.
Majok Majok, who came to Australia as a refugee in 2002, says the experience has made him appreciate every chance he gets.
"It lets you know that you can't take anything for granted, every opportunity you get you have to take advantage of. I got an opportunity to play basketball and I got to make the most of it because in the end it can be taken away from you."
He's the first South Sudanese player to join the club.
Melbourne United CEO Vince Crivelli says he hopes he's the first of many.
"The fact that he's got a background can really resonate with some of the kids, assists in the transition for some of the next generation. For Melbourne United specifically we're going to work pretty closely with the community in Victoria to continue to develop and foster relationships."
Organisers of the tournament this weekend say the competition is about maintaining a sense of community and cultural identity for the players.
Manyang Berberi, from the South Sudanese Australian National Basketball Association, says it's also about fostering the next generation of Australian basketball stars.
"We've had some good talent scouts come to the tournaments and some of the kids have been able to get scholarships to US colleges and the AIS. So it's mainly about that the basketball and developing the kids to be good basketball players and mainly about social engagement."
Luol Deng hopes to be also inspiring NBA dreams.
These South Sudanese-Australian players saying they're also aiming for the top.
"I wanna make the NBA like him.//I wanna play professional basketball.//I'm going very far, I'm going to the NBA you guys hear it first here."
