Adam Silver predicts future National Basketball Association game in Africa

Stars like the Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul and Miami Heat forward Luol Deng arrived in Johannesburg Wednesday ahead of Team Africa’s matchup against Team World on Saturday.

NBA India senior director Carlos Barroca said “The teachers did a great job in India and are here at BWB Africa to continue to learn and enhance their basketball training skills with the best coaches/trainers from around the world. These things just take time, but I’m very confident that in the not-too-distant future we will be playing, to begin with, a pre-season game on the continent of Africa”. Since then he has represented Nigeria in the AfroBasket tournament and continued work with Basketball Without Borders, participating in the NBA West Africa Development Camp and helping solidify the relationship between the NBA and the continent of Africa.

In the week leading up to the game, NBA players, coaches and legends are holding sessions on leadership and health and wellness for 59 of the top young players on the continent as part of the 13th edition of Basketball Without Borders Africa.

Silver said some of the players will take trips to museums, go on a safari, visit the foundation of late South African president Nelson Mandela, and conduct coaching clinics around Johannesburg.

Aminu, who was born in the United States, is eligible to play for Team Africa because of his Nigerian heritage.

Other league players, including Oklahoma City Thunder’s Serge Ibaka and former Portland Trail Blazer Nicolas Batum, will join Farouq on Team Africa. “The players are bringing their talents direct to Johannesburg as opposed to people getting it off media”. “We’re finally having a game here”, Deng said.

Perhaps taking a nod from the global popularity of soccer, the National Basketball Association has ramped up activities to expand internationally in the past few years and according to Silver he has no plans on stopping now with Africa in mind.