The league plans to concentrate academy training at a new global centre in Abu Dhabi, where African prospects will compete with young players from other parts of the world for places.
The decision has raised a difficult question for African basketball, what changes when a full-time training route on the continent is replaced by access to a global academy abroad?
The Senegal facility offered more than court time. The NBA described its academy programme as combining basketball development with education and support for young players. Its training centre in Saly opened in November 2018 to serve prospects from across Africa.
A former academy official said approximately 110 students trained through the programme. Its former players include Cameroonian Ulrich Chomche and South Sudanese Khaman Maluach, examples of the route it created between African basketball and opportunities overseas.
The NBA says its Africa work continues
The league said the closure reflects a change in its global player-development strategy, rather than an end to its work in Africa. It pointed to programmes that continue on the continent, including Basketball Without Borders and the Basketball Africa League.
“We’re incredibly proud of the impact that NBA Academy Africa has had and remain committed to developing the next generation of African players,” Troy Justice, an NBA senior vice-president, said.
The Basketball Africa League has completed its sixth season, providing a professional club competition with teams from across the continent.
It is a different programme from the academy, however, the league’s continuation does not replace the Senegal facility’s full-time training and educational setting for selected teenagers.
Former academy staff questioned what the move will mean for access. The NBA disputes the suggestion that African players will have fewer opportunities, arguing that a single global location will give young prospects greater exposure to coaches and scouts.
That leaves the practical test ahead, how many African players gain places at Abu Dhabi’s new academy, and whether they can access the support they previously received in Senegal. For now, the confirmed change is that the NBA’s sole African elite academy has closed while its other basketball activities on the continent continue.
