NBA mulls regular games in Africa

JOHANNESBURG – The NBA is in Africa for an exhibition, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expects more important games to come.

“Stay tuned,” Silver said Thursday as 20 NBA stars, including Chris Paul and Luol Deng, prepare to play at a small arena in downtown Johannesburg – the first NBA game of any kind in Africa. “This is an experiment of sorts.”

Although he didn’t give an exact time frame, Silver said a pre-season game and then a regular-season game on the continent was the logical progression for the NBA, which is on a “fast track” to build a brand in soccer-crazy Africa.

“Part of why I’m here is to continue to investigate new facilities,” Silver said. “We would want a larger, more modern arena for a regular or pre-season game here. And it’s also to test the response here. These things just take time, but I’m very confident that in the not-too-distant future we will be playing, to begin with, a pre- season game on the continent of Africa.”

Having already explored possibilities in China and Europe,

Africa’s next for the NBA, which has brought some big names – coaches as well as players – to Johannesburg for Saturday’s exhibition game at Ellis Park Arena.

There’s Paul, an eight-time All Star, who will captain Team World. Deng, a two-time All Star, will lead a Team Africa. Pau and Marc Gasol have also made the trip, as have San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and coach of the year Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks. Also on the rosters are Al-Farouq Aminu and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who both have parents from Nigeria.

This game’s the next step in the league’s links to Africa that began with the first-round draft of Hakeem Olajuwon by the Houston Rockets in 1984, Silver said. Olajuwon, who is from Nigeria and is part of this trip to South Africa as an NBA ambassador, went on to become a two-time NBA champion and 12-time All Star.