Basketball was a big part of Youth Day celebrations in Soweto, South Africa, on Friday with Junior NBA action.
Hosted in conjunction with the 47th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising of 1976 as part of NBA Africa’s community outreach efforts, the Jr NBA Johannesburg League celebrated Youth Day with a basketball clinic for 500 boys and girls ages 14 and under at the Klipspruit Sports Centre in Soweto this morning.
The participants learned basketball fundamentals from NBA Africa and Jr NBA Johannesburg League coaches, and took part in skills stations focused on development of their passing, shooting, dribbling, ball handling and defensive skills.
The 2023 Jr NBA Johannesburg League, featuring nearly 60 boys and girls school and community teams from across the greater Johannesburg and Soweto areas, tipped off in May and will conclude with playoffs and finals in August.
It builds on NBA Africa’s grassroots and elite development programmes and events held in South Africa in recent years.
These include 14 editions of the Basketball Without Borders Africa Camp (the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach programme), the Royal Bafokeng Jr NBA Program in North-West (currently in its 13th season, the program has impacted tens of thousands of youths since its inception), and last year’s Jr NBA tournaments in Cape Town and Durban.
The league is part of NBA Africa’s broader efforts to make the game of basketball more accessible across South Africa, and Africa.
The second Jr NBA tournament will be held in Cape Town in July, with the Durban tournament to follow later this year.
In addition to South Africa, Jr NBA programming has been implemented in 15 other African countries.