'The one loss I'll never forget' - Luol Deng reflects on Duke's Final Four heartbreak

A former NBA player who was even an All-Star in his career and an influential figure in global basketball, Luol Deng, shared how one loss stands out in his career. During his college tenure with the Duke Blue Devils, he came close to an NCAA Championship but fell short when they lost to the UConn Huskies in the Final Four of the 2003-04 season.

Duke's heartbreak on the Final Four stage

Deng shared a dreadful memory that still haunts him to this day during an episode of the Knuckleheads Podcast. 

"You know, I always tell people this. I can never rewind the time back. But, you know, in life, you have certain things that happen that you cannot take back. No matter what you do, you just got to face it," Deng said. "My dream was, you know, to be in a final year. And to win a chip and whatnot. We won in high school. You want to win in college."

The retired forward reflected on the significance of the loss against the Huskies. It wasn't just a game for him, it was the culmination of his dreams, as he wanted to continue his high school success. Deng delivered a stellar performance during that game, but it wasn't enough to get them through. 

"I came out 16 points in the first half, Final Four. Just, I wanted it so bad," he added.

A haunting memory turned motivation

The native of Congo played against his former teammate from high school, Charlie Villanueva, who suited up for the Huskies at that time. Deng often mentions how Charlie taunts him with a picture of the ring whenever the topic of the biggest loss in his career comes up.

"Till now, I tell people it's the one loss that, you know, I've lost many times, but that's the one loss that every time I think of losing, that's the first thing that came to mind," but while it still hurts, Luol says that it made him what he is today, and what he was when he finally joined the pros. 

In his lone season at Duke, Deng averaged 15.1 points per game and 6.9 rebounds over 37 games played, which earned him a couple of accolades. He was named to an All-ACC Freshman Team and an All-ACC Tournament Team that season before declaring for the 2004 NBA Draft, where he was selected 7th overall by the Phoenix Suns and traded immediately to the Chicago Bulls.

Luol played 15 seasons in the NBA, earning two All-Star selections along with other accolades, including spots on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team and the NBA All-Rookie First Team.