The National Basketball Association has closed its elite basketball academy in Senegal, ending an eight-year programme that helped develop some of Africa's most promising young players. NBA Academy Africa, launched in Senegal in 2018 as the league's first elite training facility on the continent, trained about 110 students, many of whom went on to attend leading schools and universities in the United States.
Cameroonian Ulrich Kamka Chomche, the first NBA Academy Africa graduate to be selected in the NBA draft when he was picked in 2024, subsequently played for the Toronto Raptors. South Sudan's Khaman Maluach, another former student, now plays for the Phoenix Suns.
The closure has drawn criticism from former staff. Michel Chikwanine, the academy's former performance and lifestyle adviser, said the announcement affected the confidence of students beginning their basketball careers. Michael Abbott, a former head of academic planning, questioned the academy's commitment to students and argued that commercial considerations had taken precedence over their development.
The NBA said the closure reflected a shift in its global basketball development strategy. The league pointed to previous academy closures in Mexico and Australia and said elite training activities would move to a new global academy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The league highlighted its continued investment in African basketball through the Basketball Africa League, which has completed six seasons, and Basketball Without Borders camps.
Troy Justice, the NBA's senior vice-president, said the league remained committed to developing the next generation of African players and pointed to other youth-development programmes still operating across the continent.
