NBA VP & Managing Dir for Africa Amadou Gallo Fall is "confident that the rise in popularity and participation of basketball in Africa will not only increase the number of players in the league but also the involvement in the game on all levels," according to Marc Spears of THE UNDEFEATED. Fall: "Everybody knows who Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon and Luol Deng is. But there are also stories like [Raptors President & GM] Masai Ujiri that I love promoting to our young people." Fall said stories like Ujiri's, who did not play in the NBA, "shows our young people that there are different avenues to grow in the game." During All-Star Weekend, Fall, the NBA and NBPA announced the next NBA Africa Game will "take place on Aug. 5 in Johannesburg, two years after the inaugural exhibition." Meanwhile, the NBA is "slated to open an elite training center in Thies, Senegal, in May for boys and girls at the under-16 and under-18 level." While Fall is a lesser known name, his "influence has been the same as he has helped countless Africans use basketball to improve their lives." Fall said the NBA has a commitment to Africa to "grow the sport," and the league signed a partnership last April that gives them the "most expansive NBA game broadcasts ever on the continent." Fall: "When we opened the NBA office, we wanted to make the game accessible to young people who want to play and fans who want to watch the game. Being on television is a big target for us. We’ve had licenses before. But this past April we entered a television contract for the next five years that is really going to be a game changer for us." Fall added current NBAers like Clippers F Luc Mbah a Moute, T'Wolves F Gorgui Dieng and 76ers C Joel Embiid have "come through the Basketball Without Borders (camp)." Fall: "It’s not hard on selling them on where they come from. They are helping build their own brand with the NBA on their continent" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 2/28).
