In Africa, NBA’s investment and ambition far outstrip other US pro leagues
KIGALI, Rwanda — Comedian Dave Chappelle, Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri and former National Basketball Association All Star Luol Deng all appeared at the Basketball Africa League championship weekend. The three-day stretch in Rwanda’s capital city was supposed to mirror…
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From D.C. to Dakar, basketball connections stretch over the Atlantic
KIGALI, Rwanda – On June 1, African basketball fans packed DK Arena in Rwanda’s capital city to witness the apex of the sport on their continent. It was the championship game of the Basketball Africa League, a league established by…
Dealing with diabetes: African prospect balances condition with NBA dreams
SALY, Senegal – At halftime of Game 1 of the NBA finals, Seifeldin Hendawy paused mid-conversation and reached into his pocket. The NBA Academy Africa star, watching the game on TV, pulled out an insulin pen, a necessity for managing…
NBA Academy Africa stresses fundamentals in developing talent
SALY, Senegal – Ten players, dressed in blue-and-white NBA Academy jerseys, took their positions on the court. They set up with five players on defense and five on offense, ready to work on their defensive sets, specifically how to defend…
At NBA Academy Africa, academics prepare students for life beyond basketball
SALY, Senegal – A large bubble surrounds two full sized basketball courts in the heart of this beach town just over 50 miles from the country’s capital in Dakar. In the morning and in the evenings approximately 20 young men…
How NBA Academy Africa fuels the future of basketball
SALY, Senegal — Gaetan Teumgue Wafo, a 16-year-old, 6-foot-11 power forward/center from Cameroon, first picked up a basketball in 2021. Now at NBA Academy Africa, Wafo has made significant strides in his physical development with help from the academy’s focus…
NBA Academy Africa newcomers find common ground in unfamiliar world
SALY, Senegal — It’s tough being the new kid. But 17-year-old Zie Cheick Hassan Conde was just that when he arrived at NBA Academy Africa in September 2023. The 6-foot-8 wing was the only player from the Ivory Coast —…
Five things to know about the NBA Academy Africa
The NBA Academy Africa opened in Saly, Senegal, in 2018. It houses elite basketball players from Africa to train in preparation for a collegiate or professional career. From inside the gym to notable academy alums, here are five things to…
At NBA Academy Africa, a commitment to supporting the youngest players
SALY, Senegal — Seifeldin Hendawy traveled to this coastal resort town when he was 16 years old. Over three thousand miles away from his home in Egypt, Hendawy chased a dream of a professional basketball career at NBA Academy Africa.…
African basketball’s changing of the guard
SALY, Senegal – Joel Embiid, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo. These are the elite African professional basketball players that National Basketball Association fans have known over the decades, towering big men who dominate the low post on both ends of the…
BAL Championship: Playing with pride
After the Basketball Africa League Championship Game, Solo Diabate and Carlos Morais, two highly accomplished African basketball players, reflected on why they play for the BAL. Both found a common similarity; they are representing Africa.
NBA Finals inspire players at NBA Academy Africa
SALY, Senegal – Players at the NBA Academy in Africa stayed up late to watch Game One of the NBA finals. Practices at the academy are usually early in the morning but staff granted a later start to give players…
Club Rafiki: Where basketball dreams flourish
KIGALI, Rwanda – Club Rafiki provides free access to basketball for kids in Kigali. Two courts established in 2022 sit side by side and serve as a meeting space and training ground.
Watch an NBA Finals Game with Africa’s top basketball prospects
SALY, Senegal – Players from eight different countries stepped onto the TD Garden floor for Game One of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. None was from Africa. But more than 3,700 miles…
Baltimore native doesn’t let disappointments stand in the way of his basketball career
Nick Faust grew up with the dream to play in the NBA, but things do not always go as planned. However, Faust’s attitude and work ethic allowed him to play professional basketball still. Faust won the Basketball Africa League Season…
African-born NBA players focus on advancing the game
At the tip-off of the 2024 NBA season, team rosters included 19 African-born players. There have been 67 NBA players from the continent across the league’s history. The continent has produced two NBA MVPs, Hakeem Olajuwan in 1993 and Joel…
Basketball is booming in Africa, but court access lags
KIGALI, Rwanda — On a pleasant June morning with the sun peeking behind the Rwandan clouds, two basketball courts tucked away from the bustling Kigali streets offer a brief respite. Enclosed by murals, trees and a chain-link fence, Club Rafiki…
BAL Championship: A long time coming
KIGALI, Rwanda — Petro de Luanda has competed in the Basketball Africa League since its start in 2021. The Angolan basketball team has played in every BAL Finals, never leaving with the title, until now. Petro de Luanda defeated Libya’s…
From drums to dancing, BAL fans bring passion to finals
KIGALI, Rwanda — All throughout the championship game of the Basketball Africa League, fans banged on drums while others danced and chanted along — bringing the BK Arena to life. Step into the atmosphere of the crowd, that combined African…
Five things to know about the Basketball Africa League
The Basketball Africa League started in 2021 and has become the premier continental basketball league in Africa. From how to qualify for the finals to a women’s program to promote female success in the sports industry, here are five things…
Five Things to Know About Sports in Rwanda
The healing powers of soccer and the Road Cycling World Championships in 2025. Here are Five Things to know about Sports in Rwanda.
ABOUT
The Shirley Povich Center for Sport Journalism regularly publishes enterprise and investigative reports on sports, politics, race, gender and globalization.
For "NBA Africa," ten student reporters are reporting from Africa on efforts of the National Basketball Association to grow interest in the league and to develop talent across the world's second largest and second most populous continent.
The trip will include reporting from Kigali, Rwanda where reporters will attend the championship round of the 2024 Basketball Africa League and Saly, Senegal, site of NBA Academy Africa, a basketball training center for youth players.
At the BAL championship, reporters will cover the title game and interview basketball officials from many African nations. In Senegal, reporters will meet young prospects discovered by NBA scouts. Players are focused on college and pro careers in the US. Some are escaping poverty or war in their home countries -or both.
The project will include text and video stories. Povich Center Director Mark Hyman and Nathan Stevens, Broadcast Production Instructor at Merrill College of Journalism, will direct the reporting
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