New York/Switzerland/Mumbai, May 11, 2018: The National Basketball Association (NBA), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) on Friday announced that Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Asia 2018 will be held May 30-June 2 at The NBA Academy India in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), marking the second time that the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program will be held in India (Basketball Without Borders Camp).
BWB Asia 2018 will bring together the top male and female players ages 17 and under from throughout the Asia-Pacific region to learn directly from NBA and FIBA players, legends and coaches and to compete against the best young players from the region.
The NBA and the BFI also announced that from May 27-29, The NBA Academy India will host a basketball development camp for top female prospects from throughout India as part of The NBA Academies Women’s Program. The NBA and the BFI will identify 20-25 female prospects ages 17 and under to attend the camp.
1996 Olympic gold medalist and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame member Jennifer Azzi, two-time WNBA champion Ruth Riley and former college coach Blair Hardiek – the global technical directors for women’s programming across the league’s seven academies – will oversee the camp (Basketball Without Borders Camp).
BWB Asia 2018 and The NBA Academies Women’s Program camp will also include a variety of NBA Cares and Jr. NBA community outreach efforts with youth in New Delhi in partnership with local community organizations.
These programs will highlight the power of sport to promote cultural understanding while teaching the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle and the values of the game, including teamwork, integrity and respect.
Nike, a BWB global partner since 2002, will outfit the campers and coaches with Nike apparel and footwear.
The NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training center in Delhi NCR for the top male and female prospects from throughout India and the first of its kind in the country, officially opened in May 2017 and builds on the NBA’s existing basketball and youth development initiatives in India.
The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program has reached more than 6 million youth and trained more than 5,000 physical education instructors nationwide since its launch in 2013.
In April 2017, the NBA launched The NBA Basketball School, a network of tuition-based basketball development programs open to male and female players from outside the U.S. ages 6-18.
NBA Basketball Schools have been launched in Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune and Punjab as part of a multiyear agreement with India On Track (IOT), one of India’s leading sports management, marketing and development companies. NBA Champion Kevin Durant became the first active NBA player to visit The NBA Academy India in July 2017.
About Basketball Without Borders (BWB)
BWB, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program, has reached more than 3,190 participants from 127 countries and territories since 2001, with more than 50 former campers drafted into the NBA or signed as free agents. A record 24 former BWB campers were on opening-night rosters for the 2017-18 season.
The NBA and FIBA have staged 53 BWB camps in 33 cities across 27 countries on six continents. More than 250 current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players have joined more than 200 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams to support BWB across the world. BWB Asia was previously held in India in 2008.
The first-ever Basketball Without Borders camp took place in Europe in July 2001. Vlade Divac (Serbia) and Toni Kukoc (Croatia), together with former teammates from the Yugoslav national team, reunited to work with 50 children from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Serbia and Montenegro at La Ghirada in Treviso, Italy. —- FIBA
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