The NBA finally have a footprint in Africa’s most populous country, with an office opening in Lagos, Nigeria, back in February this year, and Gbemisola Abudu, NBA Africa VP and country lead, is on a mission to make it as wide as possible.
With the NBA boasting a number of high-profile Nigeria-origin players over the years, including Greece international Giannis Antetokounmpo [his original Nigerian surname was Adetokunbo], Abudu and NBA Africa are eager to develop the wealth of talent from the grassroots level up. It’s indeed high time.
Abudu is looking to level up her own goals for youth and social development, and for filling the ‘blank slate’ that is Nigeria with basketball courts, a welcomed development considering the vast number of talents in the country.
“We’re] making basketball more accessible for them. Whether they make it all the way to the elite level or not, they’ll benefit from the life skills basketball teaches.”
“I think that’s a very exciting prospect because that impacts infrastructure development in Nigeria.”
“How do we develop a more robust basketball ecosystem given what the NBA represents, and us being able to influence that in Nigeria”.
“Well, part of that is making sure that NBA and BAL games are accessible across the country. It’s not a matter of just the certain pockets of individuals having access to basketball games.”
One of the amazing things about the platform the NBA brings is that it’s a perfect intersection for all things culture: food, music, fashion, and art. Nigeria has become a purveyor of culture in Africa. How do we bring all of that together for the NBA brand in Nigeria?
Ongoing in Nigeria, we donated a legacy court during the NBA Crossover. We donated a legacy court to the Ikorodu community in Lagos. Basically, we’re giving the young boys and girls in that community a court where they can easily play basketball.
One thing about Nigerians is that we have a major sense of national pride. A lot of these players want to come back home. They want to do something. They want to figure out how they can be plugged into the NBA’s plan in Nigeria. We have summer camps in Nigeria. We’re working with them to figure out how the NBA can facilitate them with that. That’s where I give them credit.
This is not just one or two players. Whether it’s current players or even former players that have been reaching out, it’s very exciting.
I’m so proud because it’s not a matter of us trying to reach out to them and convince them. They’re saying they want to help shed light on whatever the NBA is doing.
They have established credibility in the market. People love them, whether it’s Jordan [Nwora], Precious [Achiuwa], or Giannis, ESPN Culled.
