MELBOURNE AND NEW YORK, June 28, 2018 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that the second NBA Academy Games & Basketball Australia (BA) Prospects Camp will take place July 15-21 at The NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia.
The series of exhibition games will feature prospects from the NBA Academies in Australia, China, India, Mexico and Senegal, along with five teams comprised of 50 top prospects from Australia, including BA’s Centre of Excellence team. The event will be open to NBA team personnel and NCAA coaches.
In addition to exhibition games between the academies and local Australian teams, the second NBA Academy Games will feature NBA Academy coaches leading the prospects through a variety of activities on and off the court, including movement efficiency, positional skill development, and daily life skills seminars focusing on health and wellness, leadership and communication.
“It’s been an incredible year for the NBA Academies program,” said NBA Vice President, International Basketball Operations & Head of Elite Basketball, Brooks Meek. “Prospects from the seven NBA Academies have had the opportunity to travel to Europe and the U.S. to compete against top competition, the first two NBA Academy graduates verbally committed to NCAA schools, and our academies have hosted a series of camps for top female prospects from outside the U.S. Our second NBA Academy Games will give returning and new prospects the opportunity to compete against and learn from one another.”
NBA Academies, which employ a holistic, 360-degree approach to player development with focuses on education, leadership, health and wellness, character development and life skills, include educational development for top male and female prospects from outside the U.S. and mark a signature elite player development initiative for the NBA. The initiative exposes elite prospects to NBA-level coaching and facilities, while providing a global framework for them to maximize their success. As part of the program, the prospects compete against top competition throughout the year and have an opportunity to be selected for travel teams that play in international tournaments and exhibition games.
Since October 2016, NBA Academies have been launched in Canberra, Australia; Jinan, Urumqi and Zhuji, China; Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), India; Mexico City, Mexico; and Thies, Senegal.
The NBA Global Academy, an elite basketball training center at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, serves as the NBA’s hub for top male and female prospects from outside the U.S. The AIS campus in Canberra is home to world-class, elite high-performance facilities and leading sports practitioners in the fields of sports science, sports medicine and coaching. AIS is a world leader in high performance and is the flagship of the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Government’s sports agency.
