The National Basketball Association (NBA) Nigeria hosted its first Jr. NBA clinic for 100 boys and girls ages 10-17 years as well as a coaching clinic for 50 local coaches in Kano recently.
The event, which was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court, was part of the league’s commitment to help grow the broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria.
Speaking to newsmen in Kano, the vice president and head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu explained that the event is also to make the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to leam and play the game.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country” he stated.
The basketball clinics of NBA Nigeria’s other initiatives this year included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and girls ages 16 and under at the American International School in Lagos in July.
There is also the NBA’s announcement of building 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, including in Nigeria, the same month, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City last September as well as the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
