The National Basketball Association (NBA) has committed to building 1,000 basketball courts in Africa over the next 10 years, 100 of them in Kenya.
Speaking in Nairobi on Tuesday, NBA’s Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, Mark Tatum, said the NBA, through NBA Africa, was keen to create spaces where boys and girls can access more opportunities to play basketball.
“We hope to provide youth here in Kenya and around the continent with more opportunities to play basketball. We will build 1,000 basketball courts in Africa over the next 10 years, 100 of them in Kenya. They will be places where boys and girls can learn life lessons, and to become better basketball players, discipline, teamwork, and good work ethic,” Tatum said in Nairobi on Tuesday.
“We opened our fifth office in the continent in Nairobi last November, and we have been busy growing the NBA, the Basketball Africa League, and the game of basketball here in Kenya and throughout the continent. I have just come from Abu Dhabi where we took off our season, had winners of the last two NBA championships – Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets competing in front of fans from some 40 plus countries, showing the appeal of the game of basketball. I was at the Olympics in Paris where I had the chance to see first-hand the team from South Sudan competing at a very high level at the Olympics, and it became clear to the rest of the world that African basketball is in the rise,” he said.
He applauded the work done by former Los Angeles power forward Luol Deng and coach Royal Ivey have done to lift basketball in South Sudan.
From left: Former National Basketball Association (NBA) legend Derek Fisher, NBA Africa CEO Clare Akamanzi and NBA Kenya Country Manager Michael Finley pose for a photo in Nairobi on October 8, 2024.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Tatum noted that currently, 10 percent of the NBA players (around 50) have roots in Africa.
In Kenya, NBA Africa will work with the Kenya Basketball Federation, and world basketball body FIBA.
The NBA created NBA Africa five years ago in collaboration with different partners to drive its programmes in Africa, chiefly the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the NBA Academy Africa, and infrastructural programmes.
On Tuesday, the NBA renewed its partnership with Nation Media Group, through NTV, to broadcast NBA matches live in Kenya over the next two years.
“Our long-term partners Nation Media Group, through NTV, will continue to be the home of NBA games and programming in Kenya for years to come,” Tatum observed.
Tatum observed that Africa has supplied world-class talent to the NBA, and NBA Africa was keen to produce more basketball stars.
“We have had world-class players from the continent of Africa, among them two our very best players, including two of the last three winners of MVP have African roots, like (Cameroonian-American) Joel Embiid and (Nigerian-Greek) Giannis Antetokounmpo
Tatum said NBA Africa has a clear strategy to create growth and progress among African players and entrepreneurs.
“We did a triple-double Accelerator Programme in Africa for the first time this year to find entrepreneurs around the continent who were creating businesses around sports entertainment, and a Kenyan was one of the winners of this competition. We are also producing opportunities for access and growth among players and entrepreneurs. We want to create an ecosystem around the business of sport to that will create and drive the economies here for the young people in Africa,” Tatum said.
NBA Africa CEO Clare Akamanzi said NBA Africa would use sports to transform communities and economies in Africa.
“Sports is a multi-billion dollar industry, and Africa has the capacity to tap into that economic space. This is why NBA has invested in Africa by opening its most recent office in Nairobi. Sports touches different areas in the economy and this is why it has the power to transform communities. Sports is a multi-billion dollar business and we believe Africa has the capacity to tap into that economic space.
This is why NBA has decided to invest in Africa, with our most recent office being opened here in Nairobi. We are excited about Kenya, and we are happy with what we have seen from stakeholders, media and the fans and we know that the investment we are making in Kenya will lead to growth of talent, economic and social growth,” she observed.
NBA Kenya Country Manager Michael Finley said NBA Africa is committed to helping develop basketball facilities in Kenya, and helping the game grow in the school system.
“This is a truly special moment for the NBA in Kenya. We launched here in November last year. Months ago we launched a basketball court with the Kenyan government at the Kenya Academy of Sport where Kenya’s elite player development takes place, and we are very proud that programmes will take place there.
We have started training coaches and players there, and we are launching a partnership with Safaricom tomorrow in which 40 girls and 40 boys will be trained by elite player Derik Fisher who is a five-time NBA winner with Los Angeles Lakers here with us
Derek Fisher who won five NBA titles with Los Angeles Lakers emphasized the importance of access to opportunity for young players.
“The game of basketball has brought me to where I am now. Access to opportunity is so key for all of us because it drives growth. When young people are provided with opportunities, they will grow and become better versions of themselves that we see and know them to be. To have an opportunity to hold a basketball clinic tomorrow for 40 girls and 40 boys is great,” he observed.
“True growth can only happen when girls have opportunities as well. The opportunity to help growth the game of basketball among boys and girls is key, and it is something I am looking forward to. To have the opportunity to grow the game here in Kenya is something I am looking forward to. I know as a person from a small city in USA, access to opportunity is what drove the growth for me personally and professionally. I would not be sitting here as a player without that opportunity to play,” he said.
NBA has partnered with local telecommunications company Safaricom to roll out its Junior NBA Programme in local schools through coaching clinics.
Headquartered in Johannesburg, NBA Africa conducts the league's business in Africa, including the Basketball Africa League (BAL), and has subsidiary offices in Cairo, Dakar, Lagos, and Nairobi. The Nairobi office was opened in November 2023.
