On Thursday June 22, the 2023 NBA draft took place at Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York. 12 international players from 8 countries were chosen.
The selection included three in the first round and nine in the second round. Interestingly, seven of the drafted players have blood ties with Africa.
According to the NBA, players of African descent are more important to their league now than ever before. In a statement, the NBA said, “with everything the NBA is doing to grow basketball in Africa and create a predictable pathway for African players to learn the game and maximize their potential through programs like the Jr. NBA, Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa, NBA Academy Africa and the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the number of African players in the league is expected to continue to grow in the years to come”.
Here are the players of African roots recently drafted into the NBA, with their new teams:
James Nnaji| Charlotte Hornets
18-year-old James Nnaji was born and grew up in Makurdi, Nigeria where he started playing basketball in 2016. He was a member of Coach Spencer Chile’s Pearls Basketball Academy in Makurdi. In 2018, he joined the Ratgeber Basketball Academy where he continued developing his skills. His professional career started in the Hungarian league with the team Pecsi VSK. He joined a Giants of Africa camp, an organization founded by Toronto Raptors Vice-Chairman and President Masai Ujiri, who is also from Nigeria. He moved to Spain in 2020, joining the reserve team FC Barcelona B at first. Due to his further impressive performances, he was promoted to the A team in 2021. He recorded thirteen appearances in the 2021/2022 season for FC Barcelona.
With FC Barcelona, James won the 2022 Spanish National Cup and the 2022-23 Spanish National Championship. ESPN FC ranked him the 24th highest prospect in a list of Top 100. On June 22, Detroit Pistons picked James as 31st overall in the 2023 NBA draft, as he became the fifth Nigerian player to be chosen in the last five years. He then made a switch to Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets via Boston.
Expressing delight over the draft night, James said “For me coming from Africa, never having this dream to play in the NBA, and all of a sudden things started to change, started coming my way. It’s one of the most exciting moments of my life”.
Victor Wembanyama| San Antonio Spurs
Victor Wembanyama is a French football player who last played for Metropolitans 92 in the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB). Standing at 7 ft 1in, he is considered one of the tallest active basketball players in the world. His roots are traceable to Congo, with his father Felix being a former Congolese track and field athlete. Victor’s mother, Elodie de Fautereau, is Caucasian and grew up in France where she played basketball.
Victor was selected 1st overall by the San Antonio Spurs, as he became the 14th international player to be chosen first overall and the highest-drafted player French player ever. With Metropolitans 92, Victor hit a milestone as the youngest winner ever of France’s LNB after averaging 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. He is considered one of the world’s finest basketball players and is expected to futher hone his skills in his new team.
Bilal Coulibaly| Washington Wizards
Bilal Coulibaly was born and raised in France, but he is of Malian roots. The 18-year-old played with Victor Wembanyama in Metropolitans 92. He began the 2022-23 season playing for the under-21 side of Metropolitans 92, and earned promotion to the senior team after putting up an average of 21.9 points per game with a defensive output of 2.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per contest.
Bilal is known for his great athleticism, impressive hops and defensive upside. His has been involved in France’s FIBA youth squads and European Championship. He was selected 7th overall by the Indiana Pacers and sold to the Washington Wizards, making it the first time ever two French players made the top 10.
Mouhamed Gueye| Atlanta Hawks
Senegalese player Mouhamed Gueye spent his early years in his hometown Dakar before moving to the United States at age 16 to play for Prolific Prep. He then joined and played for Washington State Cougars, where he averaged 14.3 points and 8.4 rebounds in his sophomore season. Gueye was selected in the 39th place by the Hornets and has been sent to Atlanta Hawks in a swap deal.
Rayan Rupert| Portland Trail Blazers
Rayan Rupert, 19, was born and raised in France. He is of Moroccan descent. He last played for the New Zealand Breakers in the shooting guard position. Standing at 6ft 7in, Rupert began professional basketball in 2019 for Centre Fédéral in the French NM1. He played in the French NM1 up until June 2022, after which he joined New Zealand Breakers for the 2022-2023 NBL season as part of the Next Stars Programme that has previously facilitated the development of LaMelo Ball, Ousmane Dieng, Josh Giddey and R.J. Hampton into NBA players.
Rupert is one of the many young players with huge prospects, with his versatility in offensive position taken as a positive sign. He was selected 43rd overall by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Sidy Cissoko| San Antonio Spurs
19-year-old Sidy Cissoko was born and raised in France. His father, Yaya Cissokho, was a Senegalese professional basketball player, and he represented his country at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
At age 13, Sidy moved to Spain where he joined the youth system of Baskonia and played for the reserves. His professional career was launched after he was promoted to the first team of Baskonia ahead of the 2021/22 season. He later joined NBA G League Ignite and became the first Europe-born prospect to play for the team. It was a successful season for the French player. After entering his name for the 2023 NBA draft, Sidy was selected 44th overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
Toumani Camara| Phoenix Suns
Toumani Camara, 23, is a Belgian basketball player with ties to Mali where his father originates from. His mother, Anne Le Docte, has both Belgian and Haitian roots. Camara spent some time at Georgia before moving to Dayton. In his final season at Dayton Flyers, he was named captain of the team and made an average of 13.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
In April, Camara entered for the 2023 NBA draft. After being selected 52nd overall by the Phoenix Suns, he made history as the second Belgian player to be drafted into the NBA, the first being Axel Hervelle in 2005.