'I wanted to beat LeBron so bad' – Luol Deng speaks about the intense playoff battles with LeBron James

Back when LeBron James was still playing in the Eastern Conference, the road to the NBA Finals, at some point, always went through him. Former All-Star Luol Deng, then a standout of the Chicago Bulls, was aware of this and was desperate to capture a postseason victory over "The King."

However, no matter how hard he tried to deny LeBron, the 6'8" forward from Akron, Ohio, always found a way to upend Deng and the Bulls—something that remains a source of frustration for "The Man From Sudan." In a recent interview with Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson on the "Knuckleheads" podcast, Deng opened up about his intense playoff battles with James.

Always looked forward to battling LeBron 

Luol always regarded Bron as a terrific player, and their playoff clashes further cemented that respect. He noted that every matchup with the four-time league MVP was going to be a battle of attrition and that he always approached it with determination and intensity.

"I wanted to beat LeBron so bad, you know. I knew how good LeBron is and how good he made his team. But, you know, even during the season, you kind of circled that game," Deng said.

The former Duke Blue Devil took on LBJ on two occasions: the first was when LeBron was still playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they overpowered the Bulls, 4-1, in the first round. The following season, LeBron moved to Miami and they faced off against Chicago in the Eastern Conference Finals. The result, though, was the same: a 4-1 win for LeBron.

Luol knew stopping LeBron was easier said than done, so he always aspired to do the next best thing: bother the all-time great.

"I always wanted to give him a hard time, no matter what it was. And I wasn't a guy who's gonna talk trash or do anything. I just bothered him. Every shot he took out there, whether he saw me or not, I just—I worked so hard to try to give ourselves a chance to win," Deng stated.

Luol learned a thing or two from James

As fantastic as LeBron is as a basketball player, Deng said his willingness to go the extra mile made him stand out from everyone else. He learned this when the two worked on a commercial for the fast-food chain McDonald's in 2012.

The former All-Defensive Team member said he and Bron had their trailers. While he had his brother with him, the then-Heat superstar had many people with him who Luol thought were his entourage. But much to Deng's surprise, what he thought was LeBron's posse turned out to be his personal team.

"I go in his trailer, man, and it changed my whole career. I see this guy—he had his trainer, he had a massage therapist, he had all the bands. He's actually working. He's actually working on his body. And, you know, at that time, I thought I worked hard, but I wasn't working smart. I was just working, you know. But this guy is using his time wisely, and it changed my whole approach," Luol revealed.

When Deng returned to the U.S., he soon hired a team composed of a trainer, chef, and masseuse to help him with his training routine. He began paying more attention to nutrition, recovery, and injury prevention. This new focus on his body paid off as Luol became stronger, faster, and more agile on the court, leading to his All-Star years in 2012 and 2013.