Thon Maker has had to fight his whole life, and the No. 10 NBA draft pick has done it his own way.
Even as a toddler in Sudan, he rallied against extreme adversity. At five years of age, Maker and his family fled the civil war, spending a year in Uganda before being accepted as refugees in Australia, settling down in Perth.
Life was -- as it is for most refugees who flee conflicts and hardships to settle in strange lands - tough. Initially, the youngster found his refuge in soccer before a basketball talent scout and social worker named Edward Smith intervened, encouraging the incredibly athletic, fiercely driven young man to move to Sydney to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA.
As Maker's frame and dream grew bigger, he and Smith soon made an even bigger move, relocating to the U.S. where Maker soon wowed basketball scouts and fans alike with his burgeoning mix of athleticism, skills, flare and hardworking attitude.
The towering 7-foot-1 colossus seemed to have the basketball world at his feet if he remained in the U.S and continued his natural improvement. But Maker had other ideas, moving to Canada in 2014 to attend Orangeville Prep's Athlete Institute.
The decision was heavily scrutinised by many in the basketball industry, but Maker didn't think twice, confident his way was the right way.
The surprises didn't end there, though.
On the verge of a college career - the easiest path for young stars to forge a NBA career, with the vast majority of draftees selected from colleges - he decided to risk it all and nominate for the draft straight away.
The decision stunned the NBA world but it was another example of Maker's forthright decision-making.
It was a risk. A big risk.
In the lead-up to the 2016 NBA Draft, Maker was the mystery man. Who was he? What type of player was he and what would he become? Where would he be picked? There was even controversy about his age - with some suggesting he was older than he claimed, which Maker laughed off with customary dignity and poise.
Ten picks into the draft, Maker became the first high school player taken in the first round since 2005 when the Milwaukee Bucks called his name.
He made it, and he did it his way by going against the grain.
"We liked what we saw in Thon as a player," the team's general manager John Hammond said after the draft. "But the more we got to know him, the more excited we became. He's a very extraordinary person."
And after such an unusual, arduous and taxing path to the top of the basketball world, Maker knows his journey is only just beginning.
"I want to be great," he said soon after being drafted. "And I know the whole path just started again."
He also wants to inspire others who don't get an easy ride early in life.
"[I] definitely [see myself as an inspiration] - not just [in] Australia but all around the world," the 19-year-old said.
"A lot of kids make this journey and they want to find a way to be successful, and when they see somebody do something like this they want to find out what made you think that way - you made certain decisions to get to where you are, so what were they?
"I'll be able to provide advice to those who want to be in this position and there's kids in my situation that can see this as an inspiration definitely."