Local game lacks NBA pull factor
AS TSHWANE Sun’s guard Lesiba Makinta adroitly put it, basketball in South Africa is about 80% to 90% behind the NBA, whose stars played in the first game held in Africa on Saturday.
Team World, led by LA Clippers point guard Chris Paul, beat Luol Deng’s Team Africa 101-97 in the exhibition game that served as a reminder of how far the sport still had to go in the country and the continent.
And not just in skill level but in popularity too.
“Skills-wise there’s an 80% to 90% difference between us and them. Watching these guys will help us improve, especially when it comes to the calmness. BNL [Basketball National League] is ping-pong, from one end to another, but patience is all what’s needed,” Makinta said.
Maybe it was because of the Soweto derby being contested 15km south of Johannesburg but Africa’s first NBA game, which was allegedly “sold out”, failed to fill to capacity an arena that holds less than 8 000 people. The fans had a blast, though.
Sihle Godden from Illovo said she was a big basketball fan and enjoyed playing the game too but Saturday’s exhibition match wouldn’t necessarily make her want to attend domestic games.
“I had a lot of fun but I don’t watch the local league and I don’t think the NBA game will make me want to attend, ” she said.
Nokulunga Ncube said: “I was just happy to watch an NBA game in Africa – I’m a massive basketball fan. I don’t know anything about the local league – I think it needs better PR [public relations].”