The NBA - Expanding Basketball in Africa

David Raminfard is a successful entrepreneur with many businesses. These firms include New Point Fabrics and KasLen Textiles, both located in Vernon, California. He also manages residential and commercial real estate. In his spare time, David Raminfard likes to watch basketball games of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The NBA has been involved in initiatives to expand participation in basketball on the African continent for almost two decades. The organization formalized its presence on the continent with the launch of NBA Africa in 2010, contributing to community development by building courts, harnessing talent, and creating outreach programs with star players in different parts of the continent.

Basketball without borders, its first such initiative, was started in 2003 and has been held annually since then. The program has NBA and WNBA stars providing training and mentoring to talented teenage basketball players picked from different countries. There are also junior NBA programs in 11 countries for the development of youth players.

The best players from these initiatives enroll in the NBA Academy Africa in Thies, Senegal, in a partnership between the NBA and SEED (Sports for Education and Economic Development). The players combine academics with basketball training at the academy. Many African basketball stars got their career start through this program.

The NBA launched its first professional league on foreign soil, Basketball Africa League (BAL), in partnership with FIBA in 2020. Featuring 12 teams from different countries, it has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.