The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced today the full rosters for NBA Africa Game 2017, the League’s second game in Africa.
The event will take place Saturday, August 5 at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa, following the 15th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa.
It will once again feature a Team Africa vs Team World format and will be played in support of UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and SOS Children’s Villages South Africa (SOSCVSA).
Team Africa, comprised of players born in Africa and second-generation African players, will be led by team captains Luol Deng (Los Angeles Lakers; South Sudan) and Thabo Sefolosha (most recently with the Atlanta Hawks; Switzerland; South African parent).
Deng and Sefolosha will be joined by Bismack Biyombo (Orlando Magic; Democratic Republic of Congo), Clint Capela (Houston Rockets; Switzerland; parents from Angola and Congo), Gorgui Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves; Senegal), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon), Serge Ibaka (Toronto Raptors; Congo), Luc Mbah a Moute (most recently with the LA Clippers; Cameroon), Salah Mejri (Dallas Mavericks; Tunisia), Emmanuel Mudiay (Denver Nuggets; DRC), Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers; US.; Nigerian parent) and Dennis Schroder (Atlanta Hawks; Germany; Gambian parent).
Team World, comprised of players from the rest of the world, will be led by team captains Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks; Germany) and Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets; US).
Nowitzki and Walker will be joined by Leandro Barbosa (most recently with the Phoenix Suns; Brazil), Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics; US), Wilson Chandler (Nuggets; US), DeMarcus Cousins (New Orleans Pelicans; US), Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons; US), Courtney Lee (New York Knicks; US), Kyle Lowry (Raptors; US), CJ McCollum (Portland Trail Blazers; US) and Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks; Latvia).
Also participating in the game will be NBA head coaches Alvin Gentry (Pelicans), Michael Malone (Nuggets) and Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat), assistant coaches David Adelman (Magic), Pat Delany (Hornets), BJ Johnson (Rockets), Sidney Lowe (Washington Wizards), Jamahl Mosley (Mavericks), Patrick Mutombo (Raptors) and Lloyd Pierce (76ers), Heat assistant GM Adam Simon, Raptors president Masai Ujiri (Nigeria), athletic trainers Keith Jones (Rockets) and Ed Lacerte (Celtics), as well as NBA referees James Capers and Zach Zarba.
The game will air live at 17:00 CAT in sub-Saharan Africa on Kwesé’s TV, internet and mobile platforms, including Kwesé Free Sports, Kwesé Sports, Kwesé partners Soweto TV (South Africa), Canal+ Afrique (Francophone Africa) and other select free-to-air channels, Kwesesports.com, and the Kwesé app.
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