BASKETBALL - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

NBA Africa expands in the East

NBA Africa has established a subsidiary in Nairobi, adding a fifth office to a network that includes Cairo, Johannesburg, Dakar, and Lagos. According to NBA Africa/s new CEO, Victor Williams, the NBA Kenya office will bolster basketball within the country, especially in the school curriculum. “We want to train more teachers and coaches in the game to strengthen the administration of the game by also offering clinics to referees. We also want to work with prospective partners who see the game as a vehicle to engage young people,” Williams explained. The NBA launch event on November 29th included a junior…

Nov

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

NBA App gets a boost in Africa with new docuseries

BASKETBALL

NBA Africa's first original docuseries, dubbed 'Born & Bred', a five-part documentary telling the stories of five NBA prospects from Africa, has premiered on the NBA App. The series tells the stories of NBA prospects from Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Sudan and it features exclusive footage and interviews with the prospects, family members, friends, and coaches. According to Franck Traore, NBA Africa Head of Basketball Operations, the series showcases "the inspirational stories of prospects from across the continent who have come to NBA Academy Africa to take the next step in their basketball development journeys and lives.” NBA…

Nov

2023

By SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

South Africa to host ‘Kalahari Conference’ of the BAL – African basketball round-up

BASKETBALL

FOR the first time in its history, Central African basketball team Bangui Sporting Club has qualified for the Basketball Africa League after playing a series of back-to-back narrowly won games at the West Division Elite 16 BAL qualifiers in Cameroon from October 31 to November 5. Led by trailblazing Australian coach Liz Mills and defensive specialist Jeff Sparrow, Bangui took down FUS Rabat in the last two seconds of the final game, 93-90. Less than 24 hours before they squeezed past Al Ahly Benghazi 87-85, also in the final seconds of that game, the two wins came off the back…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Basketball Africa League expands to South Africa for fourth season tipping off in March 2024

BASKETBALL

THE Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced that the league’s expanded fourth season will tip off in March 2024 in South Africa. The 2024 BALseason will feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing a record 48 games across four African countries – South Africa, Egypt, Senegal and Rwanda – over four months, marking the first BAL games in South Africa and the first time the league will play in four different countries. Also, for the first time, the 12 teams will be divided into three conferences of four teams each. Each conference will play a 12-game…

Oct

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

15 African players in the 2023/24 NBA

BASKETBALL

THE 2023/24 NBA season will feature 15 basketball players hailing from Africa, once again underscoring the continent's prominent presence in the global basketball arena. This season's rosters, recently unveiled by the NBA, reveal Nigeria leading the way, with a total of five of its citizens making the cut. In addition, Cameroon boasts three players, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has two. Angola, Mali, Senegal, South Sudan, and Sudan are each represented by a single player. Moreover, the press statement accompanying the announcement of international players featured in the upcoming season emphasizes a broader connection to Africa. The…

Oct

2023

By SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

The World of African Basketball

BASKETBALL

FORMER Kenya women's basketball team captain and international commentator Silalei Shani provides all the latest moves and grooves in this week's The World of African Basketball. After applying for American citizenship in a move that saddened many Cameroonians, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has come in for criticism again with the announcement that he would be playing for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Embiid, who holds three passports, made his decision for family reasons and to follow his dream of winning an Olympic medal. “It was difficult. Obviously, I like all three options. I love my country…But…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

2023 Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA finals conclude in North West

BASKETBALL

THOUSANDS of Bafokeng youth gathered at Royal Marang in Phokeng, North West on Saturday, September 30, to cap off a week-long celebration of the 11th Jr. NBA basketball season as six boys and girls teams won their championship games in the 2023 Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA Finals. Lebone Primary School U14 (Girls) Bonwakgogo Primary School U14 (Boys), HF Tlou Secondary School U16 (Girls), Tshukudu Secondary School U16 (Boys), Kitsong School U18 (Girls) and Lebone II College U18 (Boys) were crowned the 2023 Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA champions in their respective primary school and secondary school age categories. The final day…

Sep

2023

By The African Mirror

African Basketball News: Senegal season wraps, South Sudan ranked top in Africa and Mills heads to Central Africa

BASKETBALL

WITH the Road to BAL qualifier fixtures recently released, the conversation moves to transfers - including technical teams and players. One notable move is the appointment of trailblazing Australian basketball coach, Liz Mills, to lead Central African Republic’s Bangui Sporting Club. Mills, who has worked with African men’s basketball for many years, including a stint with Ivory Coast’s ABC Fighters, who she led to the 2023 BAL quarterfinals, expressed her excitement at the new challenge. “It’s all about creating the right environment to be successful and I think that starts at the top…creating an honest, trustworthy, and transparent environment, that’s…

May

2023

By SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

The stage is set for Africa’s biggest basketball event of the year: BAL playoffs in Kigali

BASKETBALL

THE Basketball Africa League’s Nile Conference which took place between April 26 and May 6 at the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo ended with Petro de Luanda defeating Al Ahly in a game that went to the wire; Gerson Goncalves scored a buzzer-beating tip-in to win the Nile Conference for his team, 91-90. The win will see the Angola team enter the playoffs in Kigali as the league favourites, after finishing third and then second in the previous two editions of the competition. Angolan Carlos Morais was a standout player during the tournament and continued to set an exemplary…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Embid become the 2nd African to win NBA MVP Award

BASKETBALL

PHILADELPHIA 76ers centre Joel Embiid has won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award for the first time, the league announced. Embiid was chosen over Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic, to whom he lost the award in the past two seasons, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won back-to-back awards in 2019 and 2020. The Cameroonian big man received 73 first-place votes from a panel of 100 broadcasters and journalists, marking the fifth consecutive win for an international player. The 29-year-old is only the second African player to become MVP after Nigerian-American Hakeem Olajuwon from the Houston Rockets in the…