Great talent headed to Africa for NBA Game


 
This week’s announcement of the team captains for the second NBA Africa Game, to be hosted in Johannesburg South Africa on August 5, sparked off huge excitement across the continent.

Thirteen-time NBA All-Star and 2011 NBA Champion Dirk Nowitzki, along with 2017 NBA All-Star Kemba Walker, will co-captain Team World, while two-time NBA All-Star and Team Africa captain at NBA Africa Game 2015 Luol Deng and 11-year NBA veteran Thabo Sefolosha, whose father was born in South Africa, will lead Team Africa.

Nowitzki, no stranger to the continent, will be making his second visit to South Africa after having been part of NBA’s Basketball without Borders development camp eight years ago.

 A veteran at the Dallas Mavericks, the 2007 regular-season MVP and 2011 NBA Finals MVP, remains integral to the team’s performance. Although he is no longer averaging his career-high 26.6 points and nine rebounds per game, he still averages about 18 points and 6.5 rebounds and is one of the few remaining veterans drafted in the 90s that is exciting to watch.

The power forward has a great presence in and out of the paint and African fans can look forward to witnessing his famous fadeaway jumper live and in living colour.

Walker is one of the must-watch point guards in the League and a great playmaker at the Charlotte Hornets. The seven-year veteran of the NBA is bound to thrill fans with his explosive play and ability to drive to the hoop in impressive fashion.

“It will be an honor to be able to play in the NBA Africa Game. Not only will it be a great opportunity for me to travel to the continent for the first time, but I have also heard great things about the experience from my teammate Nicolas Batum who was at the first game in 2015,” Walker told NBA.com in a recent interview.

Deng is the only one of the four captains that will be making his second appearance in the African exhibition game. Now at the Los Angeles Lakers, he is one of the African-born players that has taken up a veteran leadership role at his franchise.

He will return in his leadership role this August looking to win the game with Team Africa. Team World took the spoils in 2015 in an exciting matchup where they turned up the pace and took the game in the fourth quarter.

 Atlanta Hawks forward Sefolosha is a regular visitor to South Africa and was last in the country in July last year for the Jr. NBA Johannesburg finals. He missed the first game in 2015 and is determined to help Team Africa come out tops in this year’s game.

A seasoned small forward, he efficiently guards the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George, and will be a great addition to this year’s African squad on both the offensive and defensive end.

Other players who have been announced for the game are Denver Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay and Orlando Magic center Bismack Biyombo for Team Africa, as well as Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard CJ McCollum for Team World.

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