NBA reveals Africa’s captains
DIRK Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets, Thabo Sefolosha of the Atlanta Hawks and South Sudan’s Luol Deng of the LA Lakers will all serve as team captains for the NBA Africa Game later this year, the association and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced yesterday.
It will be the second time the NBA stages a game on the continent. The first event – a sold out affair – took place in 2015 at the Ellis Park Arena.
The game, which will take place following the 15th edition of a Basketball Without Borders clinic, will once again feature Team Africa v Team Worldand will be played in support of UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and SOS Children’s Villages South Africa.
Nowitzki – a 13-time All-Star and 2011 NBA champion – along with Walker, a 2017 All-Star, will co-captain Team World in the event.
Team Africa, meanwhile, will be led by two-time All-Star Deng, who also captained Team Africa in 2015, and Sefolosha – an 11-year NBA veteran whose father was born in South Africa.
Said Sefolosha: “Having South African roots, it’s a dream come true to return to the country to play in an NBA game.
“There are so many talented African players in the league, and it will be an honour to lead them on August 5 in Johannesburg.”
Deng concurred with his co-captain, saying: “I’m thrilled to be coming back to Johannesburg to lead Team Africaalongside Thabo.
“The first NBA Africa Game in 2015 was a lot of fun, and it will be a privilege to play in front of our Africanfans once again.”
In February, the NBA and NBPA announced that Bismack Biyombo of the OrlandoMagic and Emmanuel Mudiay of the Denver Nuggets – both from the DRC – would play for Team Africa.
American CJ McCollum – the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2016 – of the Portland Trailblazers, meanwhile, will play for Team World.
The full rosters of players, coaches and legends will be announcedat a later date.
Tickets for the game, scheduled for Saturday, August 5, at the TicketPro Dome will be available for fans from Thursday from 10am by visiting