National Basketball Association plays first ever exhibition game in Africa

“It was mad that The Dream knew exactly who I was”, he remembers. Silver, who got married recently, said he will go on a honeymoon after the game to the east coast of Africa. So that was unbelievable in itself, and I’m at a loss for words for all of that. Upon arrival, he tweeted, “First night in Johannesburg and I’m too excited about everything”.

JOHANNESBURG – Chris Paul keeps waking up in his hotel at 3 a.m. because of jet-lag and is wiped, though it hasn’t stopped him getting out and visiting the house where Nelson Mandela lived.

Lovers of the National Basketball Association are in for a swell time in no distant future as body is lining up moves to bring the game closer to Johannesburg among other big cities in the continent, AP reports. Team World, which includes players like the Clippers’ Chris Paul and the Celtics’ Evan Turner, takes its roster from every other part of the planet.

“I’ve been beyond lucky, blessed or whatever it is”, Ezeli said via Yahoo.

At the event the coaches will get the opportunity to learn and enhance their basketball training skills with the best coaches trainers from around the world. But there was always one player he hoped that his son would emulate on the court.

But basketball is gaining momentum with more than 35 NBA players coming from Africa since 1984, according to NBA.com. “The only time I’ve ever left the country and certainly across the Atlantic was for basketball, and it’s really incredible to see how it impacts not only me, but everybody else in that room”.

Because of his Senegalese roots, Diaw will represent Team Africa in the game. He took part in the Basketball without Borders camp and spent extra time watching his younger brother Kostas compete.

The NBA’s presence in Africa, and particularly southern Africa, is still comparatively small.

We feel the global exposure provided by NBA is great for the local development of basketball and would be great if you would be interested in featuring the same in your publication. NBA programme selected six Indian coaches, one each from Ludhiana, Mumbai, Kochi, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai for the 13th edition of Basketball without Borders (BWB) programme in South Africa. “I heard it was sold out in nine minutes”. “And, it means a lot to be there and to play for Africa”. Basically they love us and everything about us, and going to this village, it’s been a whole another experience. For Giannis, that’s one of the most meaningful aspects of the trip. “And it’s just fun”.

On a personal level, Aminu’s trip has also had a secondary benefit: He’s been able to spend time with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon. Look out for the behind-the-scenes All-Star weekend with LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Commissioner Adam Silver.

“I guess you could say that”, he said, laughing, during a Thursday morning conference call. Earlier this year, the Spurs forward and his Babac’ards foundation teamed with the SEED Academy to found a school for girls, the first of its kind. Minutes later, though, Antetokounmpo made mention of the Larry O’Brien trophy again.

However, another question came, depriving him of his opportunity to abscond with the trophy.

“I’m going to hide the trophy under my bed but not tell anyone”, he said.