The National Basketball Association (NBA) has closed its only elite basketball training academy in Africa, ending an eight-year programme that helped develop some of the continent’s most promising young basketball talents.
The NBA Academy Africa, located in Senegal, was launched in 2018 to identify and develop high-school-age basketball prospects from across Africa and prepare them for opportunities at elite schools, universities and professional basketball programmes.
During its operation, the academy trained about 110 young players. Some of its graduates went on to attend elite institutions in the United States, while others progressed to professional basketball, including the NBA.
Among the academy’s notable alumni are Khaman Maluach and Ulrich Chomche, who went on to reach the NBA.
The closure comes as the NBA moves its global elite development efforts to a new academy facility in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The development has generated concerns among some former officials and stakeholders who believe that closing the Senegal facility could limit access to elite basketball development opportunities for young African players.
Michael Abbott, a former Head of Academic Planning at the Senegal academy, criticised the decision, arguing that the programme should have placed greater emphasis on the long-term development of its student-athletes.
Another former NBA Academy Africa official, Michel Chikwanine, said the closure could reinforce concerns among African youths that international organisations sometimes focus more on extracting talent from the continent than investing in local infrastructure and long-term development.
Despite the closure, the NBA has maintained that it remains committed to developing African basketball talent through other programmes.
The development has also reignited a broader conversation about the need for African countries to invest more heavily in their own sports infrastructure, academies and talent-development systems.
With millions of young people across the continent possessing sporting potential, stakeholders argue that Africa needs sustainable systems capable of identifying, training and retaining talent rather than relying heavily on international organisations.
The NBA Academy Africa may have closed its doors, but its legacy remains in the careers of the young players it helped develop. Its closure also presents an important question for the continent: what can Africa do to build world-class sporting institutions of its own?
