NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has given his take on the importance of the BWB Global Camp to the organization as campers returned to action for the second day in Charlotte. (All Photos Credit: NBAE)
After watching Team USA defeat Team World 161-144 in the 2019 MTN DEW ICE Rising Stars, the participants were back at Queens University on Saturday.
In terms of Silver, the task of breaking down his comments into anything meaningful when it comes to female hoops was more of a challenge – at least taking into account the context of the camp being for boys and girls.
He stated: “For the league, there’s nothing more important than continuing to develop that next generation of players, and I think, if you look back at the league historically, we played more of a passive role when it came to development of players, whether it was through college system or systems that existed in Europe or other parts of the world. Those players were, in essence, presented to us when they are ready for the draft.”
“But with the Basketball Without Borders camps, the notion is we can play a much more direct role in the development of players, and if we get to them, boys and girls, at a younger age, we can begin teaching them, not just fundamentals, but the values of this game,” continued Silver.
“Helping them build character around the game, teaching them about their bodies, teaching them the importance of nutrition and sleep and stretching and physical fitness.”
The rising stars in the camp had started the day with combine testing before being joined by former BWB camper Deandre Ayton (Bahamas; Phoenix Suns) who worked with the prospects on the court. Ayton participated in BWB Global 2016 as a camper alongside Team World teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada; LA Clippers).
The prospects were split into teams and participated in their first team practice before the 5 v. 5 games started. Following practice, the teams battled in a series of competitive five-on-five games which set the stage for tomorrow’s playoff tournament. The camp closed with a life skills session on leadership led by the Sacramento Kings’ Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia).
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