It is a journey that started in South Sudan.
Deng Acouth was six years old when he learned he would be leaving his Kenyan refugee camp for a new life in Australia.
"At the start, I was like, I don't know, I didn't want to come here, because I didn't want to leave, like, where I was, but I knew that I was coming to a better place. Because I was, like, I was too young. And I didn't want to leave my friends there, all these people. When I got here, I realised, you know, this is a better place. There's more opportunities here, I don't have to ... there's less worries."
Playing sport helped him make friends in his new land.
At age 16, Deng quit football and started playing basketball.
He joined the Savannah Pride program, an initiative that aims to educate and inspire the South Sudanese community.
"It took some time. At the start, I was like ... I wasn't good. So I was, like, I don't know, I didn't really see it as serious at the start. And then, as, like, I got better, I saw it as, like, I could do this for a living and stuff."
Now, the 20-year-old is trialling for a spot as a development player with the National Basketball League's Sydney Kings.
The Kings' coach, former Australian Boomers legend Andrew Gaze, says the club embraces talent from all corners of the globe.
"One of the great things about sport, and the way that we try to engage in sport, it shouldn't matter what your passport says, what your socio-economic position is, what cultural background you've come from or what race you are. It's irrelevant, absolutely irrelevant. The most important thing is your desire to compete, desire to want to learn, and your ability to play at the elite level."
Managing director Jeff Van Gronigen says engaging with Sydney's multicultural communities is a priority for the club.
"Basketball's got a tremendous tradition in this country of integrating people from various cultures, you know, within our sport. So, we're just carrying on that tradition. I think we're a little more focused on it in Sydney because we're in Sydney, and, if you look at the amazing array of cultures and ethnicities that are in this city, it makes sense for us to reach out and try to engage with as many of those as possible."
The NBL season begins in October.
Deng is hoping, if the Kings select him, it will be the start of a long career.
"See, I could use it as like a stepping stone, because I'm looking to go, like, further, like NBA,* Europe."
With his parents still South Sudan, Deng is driven to succeed, admitting they depend on him.
