August 9 – Day 4 of Basketball without Borders in Paris started with a seminar led by Orlando Magic’s Bo Outlaw and San Antonio Spurs Don Newman on the importance of character and the qualities of being a leader. The talk focused on taking responsibility on and off the court, teamwork and respect. “No-one is perfect,” coach Newman told the campers. “So don’t get down on yourselves because you believe that. People put pressure on themselves to be the perfect player and they drive themselves crazy. They don’t want to make a mistake. You can’t play like that and you can’t live like that.” Bo Outlaw stressed the importance of working as a team “You need five guys in their assigned roles to win. You’re a team. You need your teammates to win a game.”

The campers followed the advice they’d been given on the court for their morning games and the competition was tough. Even Mickael Pietrus commented on the increased level of play for today’s games.

Bo Outlaw’s Nuggets took on Neal Meyer’s Suns 83-60 whilst Terry Stotts Lakers team beat Chris Duhon’s SuperSonics 60-52. The toughest game of the day saw Mickael Pietrus’ Warriors beat Don Newman’s Spurs 91-83.

Raheem Thompson, a young player from England, was clearly pleased to be at the camp and was starting to get used to the high level of competition, “I feel almost like an NBA player with this camp!”

After lunch the young players practiced their three-point shooting skills ready for tomorrow’s competition at half time of the Basketball without Borders Europe All-Star Game.

In the afternoon the NBA Players, and all the NBA Coaches, traveled to INSEP, the world renowned French National Sports and Physical Education Institute in Paris, for a basketball clinic with local children. The clinic was held in partnership with the French Basketball Federation (FFBB), the Ministry of Health, Youth & Sports and Paris City Hall. In total 75 children took part in the clinic and were selected from the FFBB’s free basketball camps and from the City Hall and Ministry’s “Solidar’Eté” program, for kids unable to go on vacation. All the children had a great time and were put through their paces with a Skills and Drills program led by the NBA players, Mickael Pietrus (Golden State Warriors), Bo Outlaw (Orlando Magic) and Chris Duhon (Chicago Bulls).

Once again another two teams of campers went to the Nike Store on the Champs Elysees where they created their own basketball shoes with Nike iD. They were joined by NBA players Mickael Pietrus and Bo Outlaw. They logged onto www.nikeid.com to select the sneakers they wanted and customized them.