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NBA executives are expected to connect with African government leaders during the United Nations General Assembly this week, sources told SBJ, as the league advances its incremental plan to sell as many as 10 permanent Basketball Africa League franchises to private investors. Sources said initial bids in June emanated from markets such as Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa, with multiple offers exceeding $50M -- believed to be the largest proposed investments into basketball on the continent. The NBA’s apparent goal during this week’s UN General Assembly in N.Y. that begins Tuesday is to discuss its BAL vision with those government officials across Africa and, afterward, advance talks with priority bidders. In its six-year existence, the BAL has been a caravan-styled league co-operated by NBA Africa and FIBA, with 12 teams from 12 African nations qualifying on an annual basis. But sources said the expectation -- as the purchase process evolves this year -- is to gradually add permanent franchises starting with the 2027 touring season. The BAL would eventually wind up with 10 privately-owned teams in ensuing years and launch a home-and-away template, with the league’s 11th and 12th teams still qualifying annually.
Those sources said the NBA is headed to the franchise model due to sustained BAL growth over the past six years, including 2026 records in attendance, viewership and social media engagement. Specifically, BAL data has shown that over 110,000 fans attended BAL games in the markets of South Africa, Morocco and Rwanda and that BAL contests reached fans in more than 200 countries and territories, including all 54 countries in Africa.
NBA executives are expected to connect with African government leaders during the United Nations General Assembly this week, sources told SBJ, as the league advances its incremental plan to sell as many as 10 permanent Basketball Africa League franchises to private investors.
Sources said initial bids this past June emanated from markets such as Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa, with multiple offers exceeding $50M -- believed to be the largest proposed investments into basketball on the continent. The NBA’s apparent goal during this week’s UN General Assembly in N.Y. that begin Tuesday is to discuss its BAL vision with those government officials across Africa and, afterwards, advance talks with priority bidders.
According to sources, the sense is that the permanent franchises will consist of teams that have already competed in the BAL; teams that have yet to qualify for the league; or soccer clubs/brands that will launch first-ever basketball squads. The NBA and FIBA have already hired the investment bank Moelis & Company to manage the purchase process and vet prospective buyers, with sources saying they will prioritize markets with capable arenas and sound development ideas.
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FACE Africa, an African-founded, women-led nonprofit advancing access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in underserved communities across sub-Saharan Africa, today announced the appointment of Malcolm Brogdon, Victoria Brogdon, and Maria Weaver to its Board of Directors. The three new board members bring expertise across philanthropy, business strategy, media, and brand leadership, further strengthening FACE Africa's strategic direction as the organization expands its work to address water insecurity and advance women-centered, locally led development.
Abby Jones: Masai Ujiri said he wants to bring calmness to the position and was asked about the Luka Dončić trade. “We have a saying in Africa, we say, ‘when kings go, kings come’ and a king went [Luka] and we have a little prince [Cooper Flagg] here now. He’s turning into a king and I think we have to start thinking that way.”
When asked about the NBA not having any African American NBA ownership, Durant had a more global and diverse point of view. “I just hope Black wealth around the world changes, not just in the [NBA],” Durant said. “I want to see more African Americans become hundred-millionaires, billionaires. I just think around the world there should be more representation of Black Americans that obtain wealth. And of course, it could trickle down to every industry. There could be more. Overall, that is something we need to keep growing as Black Americans.”
While Hasheem Thabeet has often been viewed as an NBA bust for his lackluster and short career, in Africa — more specifically his native Tanzania — he is seen as a pioneer, legend and role model. Back on “the continent,” Thabeet, the No. 2 pick in the 2009 NBA draft — selected ahead of such stars as James Harden, Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan — is still playing in the Basketball Africa League. “I wish I could have played longer [in the NBA],” Thabeet, 39, told Andscape in a phone call from Pretoria, South Africa. “Yes. It didn’t happen. So what? Life goes on. You got to keep it moving. I look at it as it was another step for me to learn something.”
Thabeet’s NBA career, however, spanned a mere five seasons as he struggled to adapt, averaging 2.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game in 224 contests. After last playing in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2013-14 season, Thabeet bounced around in the G League, Japan, Taiwan, China and now Tanzania. “I was drafted so high, but I feel like I wasn’t the first priority, because you see these days you just don’t send a No. 2 [pick] to the G League,” Thabeet said. “So, I feel like there was so many things that happened to me where I was vulnerable. I didn’t know how to react, how to handle the situation. So, people can say whatever they want to say. It’s an opinion world these days. Everybody has their opinion. People who never played or played sports [on that level], they can say whatever they want to say. That is me now looking at it right now as a man.
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“But as a young boy, of course I went through so much. So much frustration with myself. Frustration with the teams. There was a time where I felt like there was a breaking point. I stopped believing. You know what? I came from a very different world. I can’t put the burden on myself through this sport. I happened to fall in love with basketball. I got to keep it going. I can’t be like, ‘Oh, this is the guy who didn’t make it in the NBA and he quit in life.’ I’m different. I’m from a very different world.”
Thabeet, Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Olowokandi and Joel Embiid are the only Africans selected in the top three picks in NBA draft history. Thabeet is also the only East African to play in the NBA. “I was very inspired by the [African] guys who played before me,” Thabeet said. “Rest in peace to the great Dikembe Mutombo and many more that I’ve met in settings like Basketball Without Borders, Giants of Africa with Masai [Ujiri], NBA Africa with Amadou [Fall]. I’ll go to these meetings and then they look at me like, ‘Man, you made it.’ And then I’m like, ‘Man, what if I played in the NBA for 20 years? Then these kids will think I’m a basketball god with what I’ve done just a few years in the pros.’ But they’re looking at me [positively]? I got to keep going.”
The National Basketball Association, in its latest move to aggressively grow overseas, will soon begin selling franchises for its league in Africa, Commissioner Adam Silver said. The NBA, which created its Basketball Africa League in 2019 and played its first season two years later, aims to sell 12 new teams alongside an opportunity to build home arenas for those franchises, Silver said last week at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum in New York.
Adam Silver imagined a future midseason “NBA Cup” in Europe that could essentially create a worldwide “confederation” of teams from multiple continents, extending possibly to clubs from NBA Africa. “You could imagine teams from Europe, potentially Africa, competing in that tournament,” Silver said. “You possibly could see teams coming into our playoffs, top seeds from other leagues. But over time, I think, for example, certainly in Europe as plane travel gets faster… I’m reading all the time about more opportunities in aviation. When I think of the flight from New York to LA for example, there’s no reason if we had four teams in Europe, you couldn’t travel, play the Knicks or Nets, travel to London, play three, four times in Europe, come back home. So I think it’s very doable in our league."