Basketball Without Borders Celebrates 10th Anniversary

London and Ljubljana, Jul. 15 - Basketball without Borders will celebrate its 10th anniversary with three camps this summer, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced today. First held in 2001, Basketball without Borders (BWB) is the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development program that uses the sport to create positive social change in the areas of education and health and wellness.

A highlight of the 2011 camp schedule is Basketball without Borders Europe, which will be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Aug. 8-11. This marks the first camp held in one of the former Yugoslav republics, which was where the 50 campers who attended the inaugural BWB camp hailed from. Additionally, many of the original NBA player coaches will return this year, including NBA Legend Vlade Divac (Serbia), who was instrumental in the creation of the BWB program. Other legends attending the camp include native heros Rasho Nesterovic and Bostjan Nachbar (Slovenia), Dalibor Bagaric (Croatia), Zarko Cabarkapa (Serbia), Predrag Drobnjak (Montenegro); Zarko Paspalj (Serbia); Dino Radja (Serbia), Bruno Sundov (Croatia); Dragan Tarlac (Serbia) and NBA draftee Milos Vujanic.

“After witnessing the devastating effects of the Yugslav wars, I felt it was important to bring together our young people in a positive way through the unifying nature of sports, which was the genesis of Basketball without Borders,” said Divac. “Basketball was always a source of pride in the former Yugoslavia, and I thought it would be a great vehicle through which to teach tolerance and mutual respect after a period of such division and conflict. I am amazed at how the program has grown over the last decade and couldn't be prouder to participate in this special anniversary celebration.”

“Basketball without Borders has seen amazing success over the last decade thanks to the tremendous efforts of FIBA, our marketing and community partners, and the many members of the NBA Family who have joined us along the way,” said Kathleen Behrens, NBA Executive Vice President, Social Responsibility and Player Programs. “This program embodies the NBA’s commitment to growing the game of basketball globally while also using our sport to address critical social issues in communities around the world.”

BWB Europe will feature the top 50 youth players from over 25 European countries born after 1994, as selected by the NBA and FIBA, training under NBA legends and coaches. Campers receive top-level instruction on-court and participate in daily life-skills seminars focused on values of the game such as leadership, character development, and living a healthy lifestyle. Through NBA Cares, the NBA legends and coaches also participate in extensive community outreach efforts highlighted by the creation of places for children and families to live, learn or play including new technology centers, libraries and basketball courts.

“It is a great privilege to mark a decade of working together with the NBA on the Basketball without Borders initiative,” said Patrick Baumann, FIBA Secretary General and member of the International Olympic Committee. “10 years is a strong testament to the impact of the program, the quality of instruction and guidance provided both on and off the court. Since 2001, it has been our goal to provide young people all around the world with the opportunity and the tools to improve and showcase their basketball skills by learning from some of the best players and coaches around. We have also enabled them to have a positive effect on their communities by becoming role models.”

Completing the BWB 2011 schedule is Basketball without Borders Americas will be held from July 29-Aug. 1 in Rio de Janeiro, where the first Americas camp was staged in 2004, and will feature Adonal Foyle, Allan Houston, Sam Perkins, and Dominique Wilkins as camp coaches.

NBA Global Ambassador Dikembe Mutombo will lead a group of NBA legends for Basketball without Borders Africa, which will return to Johannesburg, South Africa for the eighth time, Sept. 1-4, after being held in Senegal last year.

Since its inception, the NBA and FIBA have staged 27 BWB camps in 16 cities in 14 countries. More than 100 different current and former NBA/WNBA players have joined with nearly 100 NBA coaches to act as mentors for nearly 1,500 campers from just over 100 countries, with 17 BWB campers drafted into the NBA.

Nike, a BWB partner since 2002, will again outfit the campers and coaches with Nike apparel. “For the past decade, Basketball without Borders has been teaching young basketball players around the world the importance of hard work, dedication, teamwork, and sportsmanship,” said Lynn Merritt, Vice President, Global Basketball Sports Marketing, Nike. “These characteristics are all crucial to helping promote success for these young campers both on and off the court, and we are proud to work with the NBA and FIBA to promote these values and celebrate the tenth anniversary of this program together.”

Starwood Hotels will join Nike as a marketing partner for Basketball without Borders Americas.

Basketball without Borders camp Information (subject to change):

		Ljubljana, Slovenia August 8 – 11, 2011
NBA LEGENDS	COUNTRY	COACHES	TEAM
Dalibor Bagaric	Croatia	Michael Curry	Philadelphia 76ers
Zarko Cabarkapa	Montenegro	Jack Sikma	Houston Rockets
Vlade Divac	Serbia	Jay Triano	NBA Coach
Predrag Drobnjak	Montenegro	Joe Wolf	Milwaukee Bucks
Bostjan Nachbar	Slovenia	Aaron Nelson***	Phoenix Suns
Rasho Nesterovic	Slovenia	Marin Sedlacek**	FIBA Coach (Serbia)
Zarko Paspalj	Serbia
Dino Radja	Croatia
Bruno Sundov	Serbia
Dragan Tarlac	Croatia
Milos Vujanic	Serbia

		Rio de Janeiro July 29 – August 1, 2011
NBA LEGENDS	COUNTRY	COACHES	TEAM
Adonal Foyle	USA	Austin Ainge	Boston Celtics
Allan Houston	USA	Kaleb Canales	Portland Trail Blazers
Sam Perkins	USA	Alex English	Toronto Raptors
Dominique Wilkins	USA	Alvin Gentry	Phoenix Suns
		Phil Weber	New York Knicks
		Will Sevening***	San Antonio Spurs
		Gersson Rosas**	Houston Rockets

		Johannesburg, South Africa September 1 – 4, 2011
NBA LEGENDS	COUNTRY	COACHES	TEAM
Dikembe Mutombo	Democratic Republic of Congo

** Camp Director
***Athletic Trainer