HISTORY OF NIGERIA BASKETBALL

The Nigeria men’s national basketball team joined FIBA in 1964. From 1965-1995, Nigeria never finished above 5th place (finished 5th in 1992) in the FIBA Africa Championships, an Africa-wide FIBA qualifying tournament occurring every two years. From 1995 to 2017, Nigeria began their rise in African basketball significance, placing in the top 3 of the Africa Championships eight times (1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2015, and 2017). Nigeria won the African Championship in 2015, solidifying their place as an up-and-coming basketball powerhouse in Africa. In recent years, Nigeria has qualified for the FIBA World Cup three times (1998, 2006, and 2019) and the Olympic Games three times (2012, 2016, and the upcoming 2020 games in Tokyo). Nigeria is on the precipice of becoming a competitor on the world stage, but up to this point has not had the talent or the proper organizational tools to compete with other world powers. The presence of youth teams has been nearly non-existent, and rosters have usually been put together weeks before competition. Nigeria finished 10th in the 2012 Olympics, 11th at the 2016 Olympics, and is currently ranked 1st in Africa and 22nd in the world by the FIBA World Ranking.

SUPPORTED BY NIGERIAN BASKETBALL FEDERATION

Sunday Dare – Nigerian Minister of Sports and Youth Development

Musa Kida – President, NBBF

Babs Ogunade – Vice President, NBBF

Musa Adamu – General Manager, NBBF

Mike Brown – Head Coach

Jordi Fernandez – Assistant Coach

Alex Nwora – Assistant Coach

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mike Brown – Assistant Coach Golden State Warriors

Kent Lacob – Director, Team Development Golden State Warriors

Albert Hall – President HallPass Media and CoFounder NBA Summer League

Lance Blanks – Sports Commentator, ESPN and BAL

Christopher Hoe – Vice President Morgan Stanley

David Fatoki – Basketball Operations Golden State Warriors

David Weisburd – CoFounder / COO 10x Venture Capital Aquisition Corp.

Daniel Sheehan – Attorney, Silicon Valley Wealth Law

OFFICERS

Mike Brown – President

Musa Adamu – VP, Operations

David Fatoki – Secretary

Mike Newton – Assistant to the Secretary

Christopher Hoe – Treasurer

Daniel Sheehan – Legal counsel

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Yvonne Orji – Award Winning Actress, Comedian

TJ Adeshola – Head of Sports & League Partnerships, Twitter

Damilare Kujembola – CEO, Amplify Africa

Idia Ogala – Multi-Platform Marketing, Walt Disney Company

NINE NBA PLAYERS WERE DRAFTED WITH NIGERIAN DESCENT IN THE 2020 NBA DRAFT

OTHER NOTABLE ACTIVE PLAYERS IN THE NBA OF NIGERIAN DESCENT

2021 OLYMPIC SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

*Subject to change

OAKLAND PRACTICE SCHEDULE
June 17 – July 3

  • June 17: Staff Arrives, COVID Testing
  • June 18: Staff Meeting
  • June 19: Coaches Meeting
  • June 20: Non-NBA Players arrive, COVID Testing (ALL), Team Meeting
  • June 21: Morning Meeting/Non-Contact Practice at MCC, Afternoon Practice at WPF
  • June 22: Afternoon Practice at WPF, COVID Testing (Unvaccinated Only)
  • June 23: Morning Shooting/Non-Contact Practice at MCC, Afternoon Practice at WPF
  • June 24: Afternoon Practice at WPF, COVID Testing (All)
  • June 25: Morning Shooting/Non-Contact Practice at MCC, Afternoon Practice at WPF
  • June 26: Coaches Meeting, Day Off – Players make the cut
  • June 27: NBA Players Arrive, COVID Testing (All), Team Meeting
  • June 28: Morning Shooting/Non-Contact Practice at MCC, Afternoon Practice at WPF
  • June 29: Afternoon Practice at WPF, COVID Testing (Unvaccinated Only)
  • June 30: Morning Shooting/Non-Contact Practice at MCC, Afternoon Practice at WPF
  • July 1: Afternoon Practice at WPF, COVID Testing (All)
  • July 2: Morning Shooting/Non-Contact Practice at MCC, Afternoon Practice at WPF
  • July 3: Everyone Departs

LAS VEGAS PRACTICE SCHEDULE
July 5-14

  • July 5: Team Arrives, Team Meeting
  • July 6: Practice Day
  • July 7: Practice Day
  • July 8: Game vs. Team Argentina (possible addition)
  • July 9: Practice Day
  • July 10: Game vs. Team USA (required)
  • July 11: Practice Day
  • July 12: Game vs. Team Argentina (required)
  • July 13: Game vs. Team Australia (required)
  • July 14: Off Day – Travel to Oakland, CA

OAKLAND PPRACTICE SCHEDULE
July 14 – 19

  • July 15: Shooting Day or Off Day for Team Function
  • July 16: Practice Day
  • July 17: Practice Day
  • July 18: Game vs. Team Australia (possible addition)
  • July 19: Off Day – Travel to Tokyo, Japan

2021 FIBA AFROBASKET SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE