The inaugural Basketball without Borders took place in July 2001. Vlade Divac of the Los Angeles Lakers 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, FYRO Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia and Montenegro at La Ghirada in Treviso, Italy.

In 2002, Basketball without Borders brought together 50 young Greek and Turkish players in Istanbul, Turkey and was led by NBA stars Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey) and Peja Stojakovic (Greece and Serbia and Montenegro).

In 2003, Basketball without Borders returned to La Ghirada in Treviso, Italy with six NBA players: San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (France), Memphis Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol (Spain), Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko (Russia), Los Angeles Clippers guard Marko Jaric (Serbia and Montenegro), New Orleans Hornets forward Bostjan Nachbar (Slovenia) and Golden State Warriors forward Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Georgia). Its partner, UNICEF, United Nations Children's Fund, offered seminars to support education and HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

In 2004, Basketball without Borders was staged for the first time on three separate continents. Basketball without Borders Americas, led by Brazilian native Nenê of the Denver Nuggets, took place at the Fortaleza São João in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 28-July 4. Basketball without Borders Europe, featuring Cleveland Cavaliers Jiri Welsch (Czech Republic), took place at La Ghirada in Treviso, Italy, July 24-27. Basketball without Borders Africa, featuring Houston Rockets Dikembe Mutombo (Congo), took place at the American International School in Johannesburg, South Africa, September 6-10.

The 2005 camps will mark a return home for top NBA international players, reinforcing their commitment to their communities. Emanuel Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs will return to Buenos Aires, Argentina with NBA players for the second annual Basketball without Borders Americas June 30-July 4. The local training facility for national sports teams, Cenard (Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento Deportivo ) will host the camp. BWB Marketing Partners include Aerolineas Argentinas, McDonald’s, Nike and Spalding. Led by native son Yao Ming, star center for the Houston Rockets, the first Basketball without Borders Asia will take place July 14-17 at the Beijing Olympic Training Facility in Beijing, China and will feature McDonald’s, Nokia, Reebok and Spalding as BWB Marketing Partners. He will be joined by a group of NBA players including San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker.

In its fifth year, Basketball without Borders Europe will feature a contingent of NBA players from Europe, including Russia’s Andrei Kirilenko of the Utah Jazz and Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks at La Ghirada Sports Facility in Treviso, Italy July 28-31 with McDonald’s, Nike and Spalding as BWB Marketing Partners. For the third consecutive year, Congo native Dikembe Mutombo of the Houston Rockets will lead a group of NBA players to Johannesburg, South Africa for Basketball without Borders Africa September 7-12. The camp will take place at the American International School of Johannesburg. BWB Marketing Partners will be Molten, Reebok, South African Airways, Spalding and Sprite.

The camps are highlighted by extensive community outreach activities throughout the area focusing on HIV/AIDS awareness, education and grassroots basketball development. At the Europe and Americas camps, the HIV/AIDS educational seminar will be led by UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. In Argentina, China and South Africa, efforts will culminate with an NBA Community Legacy Project, the NBA’s premier community initiative, which ranges from a refurbished recreation facility, donated books, furniture, Dell computers and additional educational materials, and/or the creation of a state-of-the-art Reading and Learning Center. The NBA and FIBA also will donate products, such as basketballs, rims and nets to local basketball federations. To date, more than 440 youngsters from 72 different countries and territories have taken part in the NBA and FIBA program and Reading & Learning Centers have been created in South Africa and Brazil as part of its community outreach efforts.

In 2005, La Ghirada in Treviso, Italy will host Basketball without Borders Europe for the fourth time. Basketball without Borders Africa will be the NBA’s sixth trip to Africa. Previous trips to Africa included a visit in September 1993 when Mutombo visited Kenya, Zambia and South Africa with an assortment of officials and coaches including Alex English and Bob McAdoo. In August 1994, NBA Commissioner David Stern accompanied Mutombo and NBA All-Stars Alonzo Mourning and Patrick Ewing, who led an NBA contingent of players, officials, coaches, and legends to South Africa for basketball youth clinics. In 1997, Mutombo and Mwadi Mabika of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks headlined a special tour to South Africa where the NBA conducted clinics in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.