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SPORTS
African NBA players are making history

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is gaining more African representation than the podium picture of an Olympic long-distance running event. A record-equalling 17 players from African countries featured on NBA rosters for the opening night of the 2024/25 season last week, up from 6 players at the start of the 2014 season.

Cameroon boasts the most players from the continent in the league, with five. Among them is the 22/23 league MVP and Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who was born in Yaoundé but represents the United States internationally. Nigeria is a close second with four players, and both fledgling Sudan and South Sudan have one player each.

The representation is effective, to say the least.

Two of the last 3 NBA MVPs have been of direct African descent.

• Joel Embiid, who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers was born and raised in Yaounde, Cameroon. He was the No. 3 overall draft in 2014 and the league MVP in 2023.

• Giannis Antetokounmbo won back-to-back MVPs in 2019 and 2020 as well as a Defensive Player of the Year nod in 2020. Both his parents are Nigerian.

• Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Pascal Siakam, and Jonathan Kuminga have all had storied careers in the league, crowned by at least one championship.

In contrast, Asian or Latino representation hasn’t grown much over the years. There are currently only 6 players of Asian descent on an NBA roster, all of which have only one Asian parent.

Water your source? The league has over the past few years been expanding its footprint on the continent. In addition to establishing talent development programs including junior leagues and academies, it has opened offices in multiple locations around the continent. It has also backed the Basketball Africa League (BAL) - the NBA’s only professional league outside the US.

Zooming out: The rosters also featured more than 35 players with at least one parent from an African country. They include 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, who has ties to DR Congo, and three-time NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo, whose dad is Nigerian. -BO

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NEWS
Round the continent

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• Mozambique’s ruling party is ready to dialogue in the wake of protests following the controversial election of its candidate, Daniel Chapo.

• Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha broke the men's half marathon world record yesterday, finishing in 57 minutes and 30 seconds at the Medio Maraton de Valencia in Spain. The previous record was 57 minutes and 29 seconds.

• Nigeria has been awarded a 3-0 win over Libya following CAF’s investigation of the players’ ordeal in Benghazi earlier this month. Libya on the other hand are $50,000 in debt to the federation as a result.