NBA Africa Announced; Dikembe Mutombo, Luol Deng, More Among Investors

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Monday the formation of NBA Africa, which will run the new Basketball Africa League and conduct other league's business ventures from Africa, per Marc J. Spears of ESPN.

Former players Dikembe Mutombo, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Grant Hill and Junior Bridgeman are among the investors in the new entity, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic. 

African businesses, governments and non-governmental organizations are also among the investors in NBA Africa, which Silver said is already valued at $1 billion.

Mutombo spoke about the latest venture at Monday's press conference:

"There is nothing more important to me than helping young people grow into leaders. And the NBA has helped me and many other Africans create an incredible platform to make a difference. Africa has one of the youngest populations in the world, and Africa youth just need the opportunity and support to achieve great things. The new NBA Africa is the transformative next step to do just that."

A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mutombo spent 18 years in the NBA while earning eight All-Star selections and four Defensive Player of the Year awards. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. The 54-year-old is also renowned for his humanitarian efforts and won the Sager Strong Award in 2018.

Deng, who was born in South Sudan, spent 15 years in the NBA and was named the BAL Global Ambassador in 2020.

The Basketball Africa League is in the midst of its first season, running from May 16 through the championship on May 30. The continental tournament was initially scheduled to begin in 2020 but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.