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The former NBA executive's focus now shifts to his Giants of Africa organization, which instills and develops leadership among Africa's youth through the game of basketball. But as for what comes next in the NBA, Ujiri is uncertain. "Now, it's day to day with the family," Ujiri said. "It's a time to really look at it from the top, and I know there are great things coming."
Countless African kids are staying up watching Siakam again in these Finals. “For me, coming in as a young player, not really having played any basketball, having to learn on the fly, at that time it was mostly like when you were a big guy from Cameroon, you came in, you was a big, you ran, you dunked,” Siakam said. “That’s pretty much what it was. For me, I can see that evolving now with guys my size being able to do different things.”
NBA Africa's commitment to build 1000 courts on the continent over the next decade continued in Rwanda on Monday, with NBA legend Luol Deng in attendance, as they unveiled a court in Nyamata. The NBA's African operation, in partnership with nonprofit Opportunity International, opened the court at Highland School, with a second court opening scheduled for Tuesday, May 27 at the Loiswell Academy in Nairobi, Kenya.
Just weeks after projected No. 1 NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg or another prized rookie debuts for the Toronto Raptors at NBA Summer League, their chairman and president Masai Ujiri will proudly make his way to Rwanda for the Giants of Africa Festival 2025 to highlight African youngsters. Ujiri is hosting the GOA Festival in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 26 to Aug. 2. The GOA Festival is projected to bring 320 young men and women from 20 different African nations together for a week of community, fellowship and competition. GOA Festival 2025 highlights culture, basketball, education, fashion and entertainment, with the goal of serving as a unifying force to inspire change across Africa. “There are so many things going on in this eight days and it goes fast,” Ujiri told Andscape. “But it was an incredible feeling being at the last one we had. And we’re hoping to make this even better.”
The Nigeria native has long been devoted to promoting and developing the game of basketball throughout Africa. He founded the Giants of Africa organization in 2003 in hopes of creating opportunities through basketball and education. Since then, GOA has built over 37 basketball courts in 11 countries, had over 6,000 kids attend its camps that taught basketball and life skills, and impacted more than 40,000 youth across Africa. GOA was also highlighted in a documentary in 2016 and in December of 2023 celebrated its 20th anniversary in Toronto. The inaugural GOA Festival took place in Rwanda in the summer of 2023. It included eight days of programming with the likes of famed singers Davido and Tyla performing, more than 14,000 spectators in attendance, more than 2,000 youth participating and more than 50 paid internships. GOA said the event invested $1.5 million U.S. dollars to the local economy in 2023. The GOA Festival 2025 expects to induce $3 million of investment to the local economy over eight days at Kigali Sports City. There will be an opening ceremony, youth boys and girls basketball competitions concluding with All-Star games, sports business forums, coaches clinics, a fashion show, a concert and more. Ujiri is also excited to unveil Zaria Court, a new urban development project in Kigali that he has invested in that has a luxury hotel, restaurants, community space and athletic facilities.
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“It’s about seeing Africa as one, and having these kids actually come and really see the other cultures,” Ujiri said. “And we have culture, food, education, entertainment, everything that brings all of us together on the continent. We have talent that shows our strengths. The real talent of Africa is the people, all the people of the continent and its youth. “The demographic of Africa is incredible. And bringing the youth together through sport is just something that’s special. And the Giants of Africa Festival was very special a couple years ago, and we decided that we would do it again.”
At ASCVD, Will Perry will have former Los Angeles Lakers draft pick Ater Majok alongside him leading in the paint, with Abdoulaye Harouna sharing the load with scoring. Perry made the decision to join the hosts of the Sahara Conference (April 26 - May 4) with both his head and heart. He said: "They gave me a good offer to be honest; I'm not going to lie. Obviously, the economics are something that I had to put into play and I really wanted to play for the home team if that makes sense. I think it's cool to play when the fans are all behind you."
Perry has laid the groundwork to potentially run an agency in the future, but has let his father take the reins while he continues his on-court career. "I did start an agency - me and my dad - and it's going kind of well. It's not something that I wanted to do full-time. It's actually illegal to be a player and an agent, so I had to call my dad and ask him if he could be the head of it... It's something I'm definitely interested in after basketball," he said. "I think there's a huge market for helping players off the court and for just being a mentor and guiding guys. A lot of times, that's all a really talented guy needs - just somebody to point him in the right direction and keep him on the right path." Perry is leaving all doors open for the future, also considering coaching and management. For now, he is setting his sights on finally bringing home an elusive BAL championship title.
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Victor Oladipo: All respect to everyone else in the world that's playing basketball or just living, but in America, it was different for Africans. No disrespect to African-Americans—I’m an African-American technically—but my blood, through and through, is African. There's no American descent anywhere. A lot of people don’t understand—I remember growing up when Afrobeats wasn’t played in the club or on the radio. There were no Burna Boys or Todbz over here. They weren’t doing that. In fact, we were getting called 'African booty scratchers.' We were looked at differently—maybe even still, a little, to this day. Obviously, it’s come a long way. But I say that to say: those first generations couldn’t have had it easy, because it wasn’t easy for me. How could it have been? My parents had to struggle in their own personal lives, in work, and in coping with each other. They worked hard so all four kids could go to private school.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver unveiled the NBA Africa Dikembe Mutombo Humanitarian Award on Feb. 15 at the 10th annual NBA Africa All-Star Luncheon. The NBA described the award as “a new annual honor that will recognize a person or an organization that works to advance health, education or economic opportunity across the continent of Africa.” Following his retirement from the league in 2009, Mutombo, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was the NBA’s first global ambassador, as appointed by late NBA commissioner David Stern.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is calling on the NBA, Formula 1 and major international soccer clubs to end multimillion-dollar deals with Rwanda's autocratic government. The NBA, whose recent Africa expansion is centered in Rwanda, was the latest to receive a letter from Congo officials. Soccer teams Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain and racing's Formula 1 received similarly worded pleas in recent weeks.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is calling on the NBA, Formula 1 and major international soccer clubs to end multimillion-dollar deals with Rwanda's autocratic government. The NBA, whose recent Africa expansion is centered in Rwanda, was the latest to receive a letter from Congo officials. Soccer teams Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain and racing's Formula 1 received similarly worded pleas in recent weeks. In her letter Thursday to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, DRC Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner questioned the NBA's morality, calling on Silver to consider whether the league's "commitment to social justice and respect for human rights" aligns with its business ties to Rwanda, which the DRC blames for a surge in violence in its country. The letter asked Silver to sever the league's dealings with Rwanda, "If not for your own conscience, then at least in solidarity with the innocent victims of Rwandan aggression."
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