NBA & WNBA Unveil Groundbreaking UK Camp, Searching for the Next Basketball Phenoms

Nurse believes the return of NBA matches to the UK can only help the sport grow.That is despite basketball currently being the second-most popular team sport in the UK, with one-and-a-half million participants on a weekly basis.When you think about aspiring basketball players in the UK, chances are their connection to the game’s biggest stars is often limited to catching highlights or workout clips on YouTube. But recently, seven British teenagers got a game-changing chance—right here in Manchester. Imagine shooting hoops under the watchful eye of Ivica Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers or taking notes from Nick Nurse, the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. This inaugural Basketball Without Borders camp in the UK isn’t just an event; it’s a potential launchpad for the next big names in basketball. It echoes the story of Amari Williams, discovered at a similar camp overseas and now gearing up as one of the NBA’s few English-born active players. With the NBA set to grace London and Manchester with regular-season games in the near future, the timing couldn’t be better for British basketball to soar higher than ever before. Crazy, right? This is just the start of something huge. LEARN MOREA total of 129 players who have attended the camps, including 41 currently in NBA starting teams, have gone on to play in either the NBA or WNBA.There are currently only two British players in the WNBA – Temi Fagbenle and Elizabeth Williams, who play for the Golden State Valkyries and Chicago Sky respectively,”I think getting advice, knowledge and experience from the NBA players, NBA coaches, all the basketball legends here, some of who have won a lot of championships, it’s very valuable and I think it’s going to be really helpful.””It says a lot to have WNBA players here [at the camp], so hopefully it trickles down so that we can get games here – and I think would be pretty.”Irene Oboavwoduo, from Manchester, hopes this might happen for her too and first aiming for a US college route to help her chances. It is a similar path for many Europeans entering the NBA and WNBA.”We can virtually guarantee that a handful or more of the players sitting out there today will be in the [NBA and WNBA],” Nurse told BBC Sport, during the four-day camp where the Britons taking part were among Europe’s 60 highest-rated teenagers.The topic of top-level basketball heading outside the United States comes in a week where the first WNBA game to be held internationally takes place.”It’s an amazing event, it always is. I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of it before, but when they said they were coming to Manchester, I wanted to be a part of it.

Scouts from all 30 NBA teams are in attendance to cast their eyes over the young hopefuls.One of the camp’s aims is to scout the best talents outside of the US from a young age.”I never really had a chance to participate [in these camps] as a kid but I would’ve loved to,” said Zubac, 28.For most young basketball hopefuls, the closest they will get to learning from the sport’s biggest names is by watching a YouTube video of them playing or training.It was at a camp like this in Latvia where Amari Williams – drafted this year by the Boston Celtics to become only the NBA’s third English-born active player – was discovered.American Nurse played in the British Basketball League for Derby Rams in the 1990-91 season, and had coaching spells at Birmingham Bullets, Manchester Giants, London Towers and Brighton Bears before rising to land NBA posts with Toronto Raptors and the 76ers.Yearly BWB camps also run across Asia, Africa and The Americas. The best performing players from the four camps combined are then selected to attend another BWB camp for the world’s best young players that take place during the NBA and WNBA All-Star weekends.”That’s always a possibility,” said two-time WNBA champion Sylvia Fowles, who is also part of the BWB’s coaching staff.

The Atlanta Dream face the Seattle Storm in Vancouver, Canada, on Friday night.NBA’s 2024-25 Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is among the current stars who have attended BWB camps, as well as 2022-23 MVP Joel Embiid and 23-year-old Williams.The event in Manchester, in which both current and former players and coaches from the NBA and WNBA were involved, is designed to help aspiring basketball stars of high school ages outside of the United States get valuable first-hand coaching and advice.Could that lead to a future WNBA match in the UK?From shooting while being marked by Los Angeles centre Ivica Zubac to being guided by Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse, the first Basketball Without Borders camp to take place in the UK has the potential to be life-changing.Williams’ arrival to the NBA will make him the fourth active Briton in the league alongside OG Anunoby, Tosan Evbuomwan and Jeremy Sochan, although Sochan plays internationally for Poland.