JOHANNESBURG , SOUTH AFRICA, April 12 – An array of NBA stars including Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa for Basketball without Borders Africa, it was announced today by the National Basketball Association (NBA), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and Basketball South Africa (BSA). The program, a basketball instructional camp for young people that also promotes friendship, healthy living and education with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, features current and former NBA players and team personnel as camp coaches.


Johannesburg, South Africa
September 6-10
EVENT PARTNERS







“One of the cornerstones of NBA Cares, Basketball without Borders is truly a global program that transcends all boundaries,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “Through the sport of basketball, it unites young people from diverse cultural, national and economic backgrounds on four separate continents. The NBA is proud to join forces with FIBA and its federations to bring together young athletes from around the world for such an impactful program that also serves as an essential forum for important social issues such as HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.”

Since its inception in 2001, Basketball without Borders, the league’s premier global basketball development and community outreach program, has featured more than 120 NBA players, coaches and team personnel from 29 different teams as camp coaches for the more than 700 young athletes from nearly 100 different countries and territories. The NBA family and the campers have traveled more than 85 million miles and logged more than 1 million hours of community service participating in Basketball without Borders.

Basketball without Borders Africa will take place Sept. 6-10 at the American International School of Johannesburg with Reebok, South African Airways, Spalding and Sprite as BWB Marketing Partners. Joining Mutombo, who has led the camp since it was first staged in Johannesburg in 2003, will be former NBA player Manute Bol, San Antonio Spurs forward Bruce Bowen, Dallas Mavericks teammates DeSagana Diop (Senegal) and DJ Mbenga (Congo), Chicago Bulls forward-guard Luol Deng (Sudan), Philadelphia 76ers forward Kyle Korver and Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton. This will mark Camby’second consecutive trip.

“I look forward to this year’s Basketball without Borders. My experience last year was the best trip that I have ever been on in my life,” said Camby, who will take part in his second Basketball without Borders Africa. “I encourage every NBA player to come and do this. A lot of people want to see NBA players. We can make a real difference and there are so many people who need our help.”

Other NBA participants include Mike Brown (Cleveland Cavaliers), Mario Elie (Golden State Warriors), Harold Ellis (Atlanta Hawks), Alex English (Toronto Raptors), Doc Rivers (Boston Celtics), Frank Ross (Charlotte Bobcats) and Chris Wallace (Boston Celtics), Mark West (Phoenix Suns) and Fred Tedeschi (Chicago Bulls). Lance Blanks (Cleveland Cavaliers) and R.C. Buford (San Antonio Spurs), Amadou Fall (Dallas Mavericks), Masai Ujiri (Denver Nuggets) and NBA scout Joe Touomou will oversee the camp as camp directors. .

Basketball without Borders Africa will unite the top young basketball players (ages 19 & under) from across the continent to take part in basketball instruction and competition. The camp’s participants are selected by FIBA and participating basketball federations based on their basketball skills, leadership abilities and dedication to the sport of basketball . One of the goals of Basketball without Borders is to help explore, develop and nurture the top basketball talent across Africa. Some campers who have participated in the program have gone on to play competitive basketball internationally and at schools in the United States.

To promote friendship and diversity, the campers will be divided into teams without regard to race and nationality. They will share living quarters with their new teammates and participate in daily motivational and life-skills seminars that promote education, leadership, character development, healthy living and HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. The HIV/AIDS interactive educational seminars will be led by NBA Cares community partners, such as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the world’s leading non-governmental organization dedicated to children. The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria and the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg will again partner with the NBA for community outreach activities focused on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

“Besides teaching others about their sport, the NBA is concerned about what HIV/AIDS is doing to people in Africa, and they have supported some terrific community awareness projects,” said Don Teitelbaum, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy.”

“Basketball without Borders Africa has been an inspiring experience,” said FIBA’s Development Manager Zoran Radovic. “It has been the perfect combination of basketball instruction and community outreach while promoting a large scale cross-continent youth movement. FIBA and the NBA are providing the campers with strong examples of commitment to personal excellence on-and-off the court. We thank the generous support of sponsors as well as the participating basketball federations and BWB Marketing Partners.”

“The camp acts as a platform for young African players to enhance their skills under the guidance of some of the most talented and experienced players and coaches in the NBA and FIBA,” said Vusi Mgobhozi, Executive President, Basketball South Africa. “This assembly of African players is an opportunity for advancement in their sporting and academic careers and we are very proud to be part of Basketball without Borders Africa.”

The camp will be highlighted by extensive community outreach activities focusing on HIV/AIDS awareness, education and grassroots basketball development. Led by NBA Legend and Community Ambassador Bob Lanier, the program includes a return visit to the Ithuteng Trust, a Youth Empowerment Program founded in 1990 by Jackey “Mama Jackey” Maarohanye, in Pimville, South Africa, where a US Embassy-funded dining hall will be opened. A new kitchen, dining hall and bathroom facility will also be inaugurated at the Soweto Kliptown Youth Trust (SKY), where a Learn & Play Center was opened last year. The event also will feature an AIDS/HIV awareness event. Last year’s event took place at the Moletsane Sports Complex in Soweto with drama presentations, personal testimonials, music, dance, and a health fair featuring mobile clinics, booths, and other information displays.

“NBA players are truly dedicated to giving back not only to their own communities but to communities around the world,” said Lanier. “Basketball without Borders will affect the lives of young people around the world and leave an indelible mark on communities everywhere the program is staged.”

NBA and FIBA will also donate products, such as basketballs, rims and sporting goods to local basketball federations and communities. Through Basketball without Borders, five Learn & Play Centers and six new or refurbished basketball courts have been opened outside the United States and Canada. Centers are located at Vila Olimpica de Jornalista Ary de Carvalho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Escuela Benjamín Zorrilla Distrito Escolar in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Hui Lei School in Beijing, China and at Ithuteng Trust and at SKY Trust in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As a part of NBA Cares, the NBA and its teams have created Learn & Play Centers, built homes, refurbished basketball courts and other play spaces. To date, the NBA and its teams have created 138 places where families and children can live, learn or play.

The inaugural Basketball without Borders took place in Europe in July 2001. NBA legend Vlade Divac and Toni Kukoc of the Milwaukee Bucks, together with five other NBA players from the former Yugoslavia, re-united to work with 50 children from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia and Montenegro at La Ghirada in Treviso, Italy. Since then, Basketball without Borders has expanded its reach to eight countries and territories on four separate continents. For the first time, Shanghai, China will host Basketball without Borders Asia June 8-11, Basketball without Borders Europe will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania June 30-July 3, and Puerto Rico will host its first Basketball without Borders Americas, July 17-20.

The NBA, founded in 1946, is a global sports and entertainment brand that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2005-06 season, the NBA will distribute 44,000 hours of programming to 215 countries and territories in 43 languages. The league's worldwide reach can also be seen with 82 international players on NBA rosters. As fans witness tremendous performances on the court, some of the NBA's most significant efforts occur off the court. This past year, the league launched its most ambitious community outreach endeavor, NBA Cares. Over a five-year span, players and teams will raise and contribute $100 million for charity, donate more than one million hours of volunteer service to communities worldwide, and build more than 100 educational and athletic facilities where children can learn and play. For more information on the NBA, visit NBA.com.