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The global charm offensive of the National Basketball Association (NBA) looking for a new generation of talent is not slowing down.
The league has opened its first "elite training center" in Africa in Senegal to train the continent's most promising young people. The center "will be the main training venue for potential NBA Academy Africa candidates across the continent," the NBA said in a statement. The extensive property includes indoor courts, dormitories, classrooms and fitness centers. The center will be operated in partnership with the Sport for Education and Economic Development (SEED) project, a non-profit organization that operates basketball to engage young athletes in university and leadership programs.
The center, according to the NBA, will expose "elite prospects to coaching and NBA level facilities" and offer a platform for discovery as the best prospects are selected at international tournaments and exhibition games. The great hope of the trainees will result in multi-million dollar contracts in NBA teams, such as Senegalese Gorgui Dieng in Minnesota Timberwolves and Bismack Biyombo Sumba in the Democratic Republic of Congo at Charlotte Hornets.
AP Photo / Michael Perez
Senegal's new center is the latest NBA initiative in training and looking for new talent, as well as growing the league's popularity in the growing competition with football leagues and other sports. The NBA has opened seven similar training centers in China, India, Australia and Mexico since October 2016.
The thrust of the NBA in Africa is not limited to flashy training centers. Since 2015, the league has organized an NBA Africa annual exhibition game, pitting some of the continent's biggest and oldest names, including Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon and South Sudanese-born British player Luol Deng, to a team of stars. world.
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