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Chris Paul in South Africa

DAY 1

Rowan Kavner

Chris Paul has landed in South Africa, as his jam-packed, international preseason takes him to Johannesburg this week in advance of the first ever NBA Africa Game on Aug. 1.

Paul, who had never been to South Africa before, already expressed his excitement about serving as a team captain for the game while he was taking part in his Las Vegas charity ping pong tournament earlier this month.

“I’m taking my wife with me, my brother, my sister-in-law,” Paul said. “Then I’ll be In North Carolina pretty much the whole month of August. It’s a whole lot of travel, but…I feel like I’m very blessed to be in the situation I’m in.”

The sold-out game will take place at Ellis Park Arena and will air live in the United States on ESPN at 6 a.m. PT. The game supports the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Africa, SOS Children’s Villages Association of South Africa and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Paul will serve as captain of Team World, which also includes Bradley Beal, Kenneth Faried, Marc and Pau Gasol, Jeff Green, Marcus Smart, Evan Turner and Nikola Vucevic. Luol Deng will serve as captain of Team Africa, which also includes Al-Farouq Aminu, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nicolas Batum, Serge Ibaka, Boris Diaw, Gorgui Dieng, Luc Mbah a Moute, Festus Ezeli and Bismack Biyombo. Team Africa is comprised entirely of players born in Africa and second-generation African players.

Nets head coach Lionel Hollins will coach Team World, while Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will coach Team Africa. NBA commissioner Adam Silver will also attend the game, which will take place following the 13th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa.