The World of African Basketball: Joel Embiid finally announces which flag he’ll play for at the Olympics, Kenyan basketball ready for a facelift and The Road to BAL 2024 in full flight

Former Kenya women’s basketball team captain and international commentator Silalei Shani provides all the latest moves and grooves in this week’s The World of African Basketball.

by Silalei Shani, bird story agency

After applying for American citizenship in a move that saddened many Cameroonians, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has come in for criticism again with the announcement that he would be playing for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Embiid, who holds three passports, made his decision for family reasons and to follow his dream of winning an Olympic medal.

“It was difficult. Obviously, I like all three options. I love my country…But I really wanted to play in the Olympics. That’s my goal and my dream.”

While the move is a massive recruiting win for the Americans, many Africans felt Embiid should have been faithful to his home country and followed the pattern of Senegal’s Gorgui Dieng and South Sudan’s Luol Deng’s – who despite NBA careers stayed loyal to their countries of birth in international competition.

“With Cameroon, Embiid undoubtedly would’ve been the hero, the leader, the boss. The divorce is now finalized between Embiid and Cameroonian basketball fans,” one passionate writer for Kick442 Sport News shared.

“The devotion the masses will normally accord to their stars has evaporated, dashed to the winds by his interest to win a silverware rather than uplift an entire nation.”

Embiid joins a list of NBA superstars who have declared their intention to take part in the Olympic Games as the Americans attempt to bounce back from their poor performance at the FIBA World Cup, earlier this year.

Meanwhile, in another sign that African basketball is on the up and up, Kenya and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have signed an agreement that will see the official opening of an NBA office in Nairobi.

The agreement will see grassroots talent development under the Talanta Hela Initiative, including the training of individuals to become certified basketball coaches and scouts, as well as the development of basketball infrastructure within the country. Infrastructure would include basketball courts in schools, communities and neighborhoods, and an international-standard arena for hosting top-level competitions.

The MOU was signed in late September by the Youth Affairs and Sports CS Ababu Namwamba and NBA Africa CEO Victor William and was witnessed by Kenyan President William Ruto at a meeting in New York.

With Kenya’s neighbour Rwanda being the primary destination for major NBA-hosted events on the continent, the NBA deal opens opportunities for similar events in Kenya, according to Ruto, who expressed his excitement in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“The signing of an agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA) will facilitate the development of basketball infrastructure in Kenya, with the capacity to host top-level competitions” Ruto posted.

The NBA is behind the Basketball Africa League (BAL), with qualifiers for the 2024 season, known as The Road to Bal 2024, already underway. Bangui Sporting Club closed out their Group B campaign with a narrow 88-87 win over Cameroonian hosts Forces Armees et Police (FAP). It was Bangui’s backcourt that led the Central African Republic champions to victory with Bigan Johnson leading his team with 20 points, while Alex Higgins chipped in 16 points and 9 rebounds. Bangui finished top of their group despite finishing with a similar win-loss record to FAP, and automatically advanced to the West Division Elite 16 Round. FAP also advance to the West Division Elite 16, scheduled to take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon from October 31 to November 5, 2023.

BAL attention now moves to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with the Group C round-robin competition that began on October 19. Four teams are fighting it out in Dar es Salaam for a single slot to the next round of qualification. The four teams represented are Elan Coton of Benin, Pazi BBC of Tanzania, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) of Kenya and Dynamo BBC of Burundi.

Fans are hoping to see former NBA player Hasheem Thabeet make an appearance for Pazi BBC, while other big names to look out for in Dar are KPA’s Abdoulaye Haidara (Mali) and Bright Akhuetie (Nigeria), both expected to play key roles for KPA under the leadership of French coach, Guy Arnaud.

bird story agency