Luol Deng: Chicago Bulls Forward Is Money from Downtown Brixton, England

He'll never be confused for one of the great all-around great players in the NBA, but Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng sure can knock down threes. As the kids say these days, he is "money" from downtown.

But did you know that Deng is also literally money?

He sure is. According to BusinessInsider.com, Deng's likeness is going to be used on five-pound notes in Brixton, a district of South London. Joining him as the new faces of the Brixton Pound are famed rock star David Bowie, activist Lenford Kwesi Garrison and WWII secret agent Violette Szabo, who are all proud children of Brixton.

I'll bet you didn't know that about Deng either. While Deng was born in Sudan, his family moved to Brixton when he was still a kid. It was there that his interest in basketball truly ramped up.

As his foundation's website tells the story, Deng started off on his path to stardom when he joined the Brixton Topcats when he was just 10 years old. It was with the Topcats that he was molded into a fine basketball player, and the next thing you knew he was playing for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.

According to the foundation's site, Deng is quite honored by having his face on the Brixton Pound:

"

I am honoured to be featured on the new Brixton Pound notes. I grew up in Brixton as a young teenager playing basketball for the Brixton Topcats which marked the beginning of my career. So it is with great pleasure that I am helping to support the local community that played a vital part in getting where I am today.

"

And Deng is not lying when he says that his likeness will be supporting the local community. The Brixton Pound is limited to Brixton, working alongside but not replacing pounds sterling.

So in a way, I guess Brixton Pounds are kind of like Disney dollars, except slightly more prestigious. They are British after all.

Meanwhile, the NBA is currently mired in a mess of a lockout that is threatening to cancel part or all of the 2011-2012 season. The league has promised to start canceling games on Monday if the owners and players can't agree to a new financial system. At that point, NBA players will start missing out on paychecks.

But Deng will be okay. All he has to do is go to Brixton and show his face.