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My son is 14. He watches these 'let's play' videos, people playing other in video games. At first, I was bothered by it, I didn't get it, but at the end of the day, if you go back when I was a kid, I watched much worse. These videos are more entertaining and more interesting than the bad '80s TV.
Well, first of all the defensive three-seconds rule doesn't allow you to play a true zone like you would in international ball and college. Another key factor is training. It is a very different defense to coach, in a pure sense. Not many coaches in the NBA have focused on that, they're largely man-focused.
During trade deadline, we pretty much tell every player, look, there's lots of names, lots of everything for every player in the league. So it's best to tune it out because every team's job is to explore things and you don't like when things get out, but it's silly to kill or accentuate rumors during deadline week.
The natural thing in Africa is to start playing soccer at 8 or 9. You go outside and you play like kids play basketball here, and you grow a feel for the game. In Africa, the kids start playing basketball at 16 or 17 or 18, and when they get an opportunity to come here, they have been playing for only one or two years.
Giants of Africa holds such a special place in my heart. It's not just another non-profit organization - this is personal. What started as a dream to give back to the country that raised me has since blossomed into an intercontinental mission to uplift youth across the diaspora, and shed light on the greatest part of Africa: its people.
There are lots of decisions, and also non-decisions, that go into this job. In the same way that it can be impossible to separate a coach from the players, it's also impossible to separate the GM from the coach from the players. You just have to ask: Is the GM helping the team have playoff success? Is he giving the team a chance to win the title?
The truth is that Africa is like everywhere else. There are poor areas, there are rich areas, there is a middle class. Some of those areas are bigger in one country than another, and some countries have real problems that they're working through. But there's great people, good people and a small percentage of bad people - just like everywhere else.
People have these perceptions; maybe they've been here for a day, or have only heard about it. It was like when I first came to work here. You want to see the clean city that is always talked about, how nice the people are, the restaurants, the vibe, how diverse the city is. That's what we want to show: what an enjoyable city it is, what a great city it is. Forget about basketball.
Honestly, I think winning changes all of that. It doesn't matter where you are - it could be Timbuktu - if you win, people will watch, they'll follow and they'll support. It's my responsibility to put a team on the floor that will win, and that attracts players. Look at the teams that have been successful in the NBA. Yes, you have big, glamorous cities like L.A. But Miami has won, and so has San Antonio. Oklahoma City is a very successful team. They're not the biggest markets.
We have to move the meter in sports in Africa, especially basketball. With the growth of the NBA globally, we have to figure out more ways to develop facilities, coaching, leagues, and youth development in Africa. The talent is incredible. Especially physically. How do we get the youth to start playing at an early age just like in soccer? The future is bright. We now have an NBA office in Africa, we have legends and Hall of Famers, we have African assistant coaches, front office members, and some prominent African players over the last 10 years. So we must plan well for the next 10.