The NBA will play its second NBA Africa game on August 5th in Johannesburg, South Africa. The format again will be a team of players either from Africa or children of African parents vs. a team of players from around the world.
Team World, comprised of players from the rest of the world, will be led by team captains Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks; Germany) and Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets; US).
Nowitzki and Walker will be joined by Leandro Barbosa (most recently with the Phoenix Suns; Brazil), Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics; US), Wilson Chandler (Nuggets; US), DeMarcus Cousins (New Orleans Pelicans; US), Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons; US), Courtney Lee (New York Knicks; US), Kyle Lowry (Raptors; US), CJ McCollum (Portland Trail Blazers; US) and Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks; Latvia).
Team Africa will be led by captains Luol Deng and Thabo Sefolosha…
Deng and Sefolosha will be joined by Bismack Biyombo (Orlando Magic; Democratic Republic of Congo), Clint Capela (Houston Rockets; Switzerland; parents from Angola and Congo), Gorgui Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves; Senegal), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon), Serge Ibaka (Toronto Raptors; Congo), Luc Mbah a Moute (most recently with the LA Clippers; Cameroon), Salah Mejri (Dallas Mavericks; Tunisia), Emmanuel Mudiay (Denver Nuggets; DRC), Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers; US.; Nigerian parent) and Dennis Schroder (Atlanta Hawks; Germany; Gambian parent).
There’ll also be another Celtics connection there as Ed Lacerte will participate as a member of the training staff. Proceeds from the game will benefit UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and SOS Children’s Villages South Africa (SOSCVSA).
It’s great that the Celtics are getting a representative and I’m particularly excited that it’s Jaylen Brown. He will gain a lot from the experience with a lot of these great players from other teams and I think he’ll truly appreciate the charitable aspect and being exposed to what’s happening in Africa.
Many NBA players who’ve gone and participated in the Basketball Without Borders program (which precedes the game) come back in awe of what they’ve seen, and most say it changed their perspective of the world. It’ll be good to have Jaylen exposed to that at such a young age.
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