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Nearly 70 attendees of Basketball Without Borders, a global development program, have been drafted or signed as free agents in the NBA and that number only projects to grow with the next class set for the draft on Wednesday.
Projected lottery picks Deni Avdija (Israel) and Killian Hayes (France) headline the group of prospects that have previously participated in a BWB Global Camp as they competed against each other in Charlotte as part of NBA All-Star Weekend in 2019.
Hayes also took part in the 2018 BWB Global Camp in Los Angeles with four other prospects in this year’s class: Josh Green (Australia), Leandro Bolmaro (Argentina), Paul Eboua (Cameroon) and Vit Krejčí (Czech Republic). The event marked the most-ever likely draftees to participate in the same camp.
“It is definitely another exciting year for us when it comes to international players in the draft, particularly the players who have participated in our international basketball development programs as kids,” said Chris Ebersole, the NBA senior director of international basketball operations.
I think it’s definitely the latest wave in a rising tide of international players. It seems like each year now we have a pretty good crop of international players coming in and the majority of them usually have participated at some level, whether it’s the BWB program or other programs around the around we have done to engage with the youth.
The international game continues to grow, with more than 100 players from across the world on NBA rosters for six consecutive seasons. Teams are dedicating more resources to scouting the international game and the results have produced a combined 30 international players selected in the NBA draft over the past two years alone.
The BWB program was launched in 2001 and has helped put several high-profile names firmly on the NBA radar, such as Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam and Jamal Murray among others. Just last year alone, a record eight former BWB campers were drafted, surpassing the previous record of six set in 2011.
The BWB Global Camp, which began in 2015, has become a must-watch event for teams. The camp brings 64 of the top boys and girls aged 16 to 18 from around the world to one centralized location during NBA All-Star Weekend with representatives from all 30 teams on-hand to witness the players participate in various drills and exercises.
“The focus of those camps is really developing young players on and off the court and giving them access to the great coaching and NBA players showing them the ropes,” Ebersole said. “The other benefit of these camps is we can bring together all of these top players onto one court and give NBA teams a chance to scout them next to each other, which is really valuable. With international basketball, it’s not always easy to make apples to apples comparisons given the varying levels of competition.
With the 2018 BWB Global Camp, there are five prospects in this year’s draft who we expect to be drafted who were all part of that camp so it was a chance for NBA teams to see Killian Hayes, Josh Green, Leandro Bolmaro in one setting. I think that is a tremendous value and we definitely want to continue to provide that benefit to all 30 of our teams.
The draft this year could also feature a record-high number of players selected of African origin.
Among the prospects from Africa this year, there are two players from Nigeria, Precious Achiuwa and Udoka Azubuike, projected to be drafted and an additional five draftees who were born in the U.S. but have a parent from Nigeria, including Isaac Okoro, Onyeka Okongwu, Zeke Nnaji, Daniel Oturu and Jordan Nwora.
Including Eboua, Mamadi Diakite, who is from Guinea, and Karim Mane and Lamine Diane, both from Senegal, are also in draft contention this year. The NBA record for the most African players selected would be topped should five hear their names called, and several of them could be of Nigerian origin.
“We’re not surprised by it,” Ebersole said. “We know how much talent is from Africa in general, and Nigeria, specifically, and it is one of the cool storylines of this draft. There are seven players from this class that have a chance to be drafted and it’s exciting to see. Hopefully, that cycle continues and we’re able to continue to do great work.”
The NBA draft is often a culmination of an incredibly long journey and hard work for a given prospect, but especially for a player from outside of the U.S. Dreams come true each year during the NBA draft and the night will serve as an incredible experience that will not be forgotten.
“The moment you see those players walk across the stage is really the most rewarding feeling about what we do,” Ebersole said. “Seeing these players grow into who they are, we usually get them when they are 16- or 17 years old, so to see them develop and achieve their dreams is always really special.”
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