NBA AND FIBA TO HOST BASKETBALL WITHOUT BORDERS ASIA IN AUSTRALIA NEXT MONTH

NBA and FIBA’s Global Basketball Development and Community Outreach Program Will be Held Aug. 7-10 in Canberra in Partnership with Basketball Australia

Khel Today Bureau

NEWYORK AND CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA: The National Basketball Association (NBA), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and Basketball Australia (BA) today announced that the 2022 Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Asia camp will be held Sunday, Aug. 7 – Wednesday, Aug. 10 at NBA Global Academy, the league’s elite basketball training center at BA’s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. The 12th BWB Asia camp will mark the first time the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program will be held in Asia-Pacific since 2019 in Japan and the first in Australia since 2016 in Melbourne.

BWB Asia will bring together more than 60 of the top male and female players ages 18 and under from throughout the Asia-Pacific region to learn directly from current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players and compete alongside their peers from across the region. The campers and coaches will also take part in life skills, leadership development and community service programming. BWB Asia 2022 campers and coaches will be announced prior to the camp.

“We’re excited to bring the 12th edition of Basketball Without Borders Asia to Australia as part of our commitment to growing the game across the Asia-Pacific region,” said NBA Vice President, Head of International Basketball Development Troy Justice. “There are so many talented young players from the region, and we’re looking forward to welcoming them to NBA Global Academy and helping them continue to develop as players and leaders.”

“We are really looking forward to this edition of Basketball Without Borders Asia being hosted in Australia, as we continue to work closely with the NBA across all corners of the globe,” said FIBA National Federations & Sport Director Zoran Radovic. “Basketball in this part of the world is very strong and continues to grow and develop, especially with the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 currently being played in Indonesia and the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 tipping off in Sydney in September.”

“Basketball Australia is thrilled to have the prestigious Basketball Without Borders camp at the Australian Institute of Sport,” said Basketball Australia Director of High Performance-Coach Development Peter Lonergan. “BWB Asia is a crucial event on the international youth calendar that will provide elite young athletes and quality coaches from throughout the region an incredible opportunity to be part of one of the best high performance basketball programs in the world.”

On Monday, Aug. 8, BWB Asia will host an NBA Cares youth clinic for 60 boys and girls from Indigenous Basketball Australia (IBA), a non-profit organization founded by Brooklyn Nets guard Patty Mills that provides pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth to play basketball.

A record 41 former BWB campers were among the record 121 international players on opening-night rosters, including 2022 NBA All-Rookie Second Team member and NBA Global Academy graduate Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder; Australia; BWB Asia 2018 and BWB Global 2020), Josh Green (Dallas Mavericks; Australia; BWB Global 2018) and 2020 NBA All-Rookie Second Team member Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards; Japan; BWB Global 2016).

The NBA and FIBA have hosted 64 BWB camps in 30 countries since the program’s launch in 2001. BWB has reached more than 3,700 participants from 133 countries and territories, with 104 former campers drafted into the NBA and WNBA or signed as free agents.

BWB Asia 2022 will be supported by Nike, which will outfit participants with Nike apparel and footwear, and Gatorade, which will keep players and coaches hydrated throughout the camp.

Fans in Australia can follow the NBA at NBA.com/Australia and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and follow BWB using the hashtag #BWBAsia.

About the NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball. Built around five professional sports leagues: the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 215 countries and territories in more than 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2021-22 season featured a record 121 international players from 40 countries. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass. The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 2.1 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.