The NBA Africa Game 2018 comes against the backdrop of the 16th edition of the Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa. This year’s game will be in honor of Nelson Mandela and will be played in support of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The NBA Africa Game 2018, now in its third year running, has previously held two sold-out sessions in Johannesburg in 2015 and 2017. All the games have been in support of a noble charitable course including the Nelson Mandela Foundation, UNICEF, SOS Children’s Villages South Africa and Boys and Girls Clubs of South Africa.
The full roster of basketball players and coaches who will be participating in the NBA Africa Game 2018, the third time the game will be held in Africa, was unveiled last Friday. The announcement after the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) reached a consensus on the list of players. The game will kickoff Sunday, August 5th at 1AM AEST at the Sun Arena at Time Square in Pretoria, South Africa.
Like the previous two games, this year’s NBA Africa Game will feature Team Africa vs. Team World format. The Team Africa will be made up of players born in Africa or players playing professional basketball outside Africa but have direct family ties to the continent. While Team World will be made up of players from all over the world; and have no direct link to Africa.
Without more blub, below is the list of players for both Team Africa and Team World.
Team Africa
The Team Africa’s head coach will be Juwan Howard (USA)
| Player | Team | Home Country |
| Al-Farouq Aminu | Portland Trail Blazers | USA – Parents from Nigeria |
| Bismack Biyombo | Charlotte Hornets | D.R. Congo |
| Luol Deng | Los Angeles Lakers | South Sudan |
| Cheick Diallo | New Orleans Pelicans | Mali |
| Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers | Cameroon |
| Evan Fournier | Orlando Magic | France – Parent from Algeria |
| Serge Ibaka | Toronto Raptors | D.R. Congo |
| Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot | Oklahoma City Thunder | France – Parent from D.R Congo |
| Ian Mahinmi | Washington Wizards | France – Parent from Benin |
| Pascal Siakam | Toronto Raptors | Cameroon |
Team World
The head coach will be Ettore Messina (Italy)
| Player | Team | Home Country |
| Harrison Barnes | Dallas Mavericks | USA |
| John Collins | Atlanta Hawks | USA |
| Danilo Gallinari | Los Angeles Clippers | Italy |
| Rudy Gay | San Antonio Spurs | USA |
| JaVale McGee | Los Angeles Lakers | USA |
| Khris Middleton | Milwaukee Bucks | USA |
| Dennis Smith Jr. | Dallas Mavericks | USA |
| Hassan Whiteside | Miami Heat | USA |
| Marvin Williams | Charlotte Hornets | USA |
The Toronto Raptors will be accompanied by the team’s President, Masai Ujiri (Nigeria) and two assistant coaches Patrick Mutombo (D.R. Congo) and Andria Griffin. The assistant coaches in this game will be Bill Bayno (Indiana Pacers), Harold Ellis (New York Knicks), Adrian Griffin (Raptors), Mark Hughes (Clippers), B.J. Johnson (Houston Rockets) and David Vanterpool (Trail Blazers).
There are over 80 current and former NBA players who are from Africa or have direct family ties to the continent. That includes Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria) and Dikembe Mutombo, both, who are featured on the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers.