NBA Africa This Week

NBA Together Live is part of the NBA Together campaign, where every weekday at 9:00 p.m. CAT and 10:00 p.m CAT a member of the NBA family participates in a live interview or takes questions from fans on the NBA’s Instagram live or Twitter

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, April 3, 2020/ — Tonight, three-time NBA champ Steph Curry will join NBA Together Live on the NBA Instagram (https://bit.ly/2R75NFx) account at 9:00 p.m. CAT for a surprise with some special NBA guests (https://bit.ly/3bQZz4e).

NBA Together Live is part of the NBA Together campaign (https://on.nba.com/39GmMou), where every weekday at 9:00 p.m. CAT and 10:00 p.m CAT a member of the NBA family participates in a live interview or takes questions from fans on the NBA’s Instagram live or Twitter. Additionally, every night the NBA streams classic games on NBA social platforms including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Twitch.

Josh Okogie Teaches Ball Handling as Part of Jr. NBA at Home: Minnesota Timberwolves’ Josh Okogie (https://bit.ly/2JBuvtp) (Nigeria) is one of the most recent players to get involved with Jr. NBA at Home (https://on.nba.com/3dSJBZq), a free interactive content series providing basketball skills and drills featuring NBA and WNBA players that can be completed individually and in limited space to inspire boys and girls around the world to stay active in a healthy and safe way, especially for those who are unable to play with friends and teammates, but still want to be active, work on their game and connect with the NBA family. Okogie shares a few ball handling drills that young people can try at home.

The Jr. NBA at Home initiative is part of NBA Together (https://on.nba.com/2JyglJA), a global community and social engagement campaign that aims to support, engage, educate and inspire youth, families and fans in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Visit https://twitter.com/NBA_Africa and https://www.facebook.com/NBAAfrica/ for more Jr. NBA at Home content.

Bismack Biyombo Stays Busy: Charlotte Hornets’ Bismack Biyombo (https://bit.ly/2JycjAO) (Democratic Republic of the Congo) is the latest contributor to the 2019-20 Hornets Players Blog. Biyombo reflects on the need to stay connected, working together and helping others. He speaks about his new daily routine and reveals his concern for his home country of DRC as he stays connected to what is happening on the ground.

“What we’re going through right now isn’t usual, but at the same time, you’re either going to let it bring you down or you’re going to get the best out of it.”

Biyombo stays busy and has launched his YouTube channel where he publishes his daily workout routines. Quaratined with Bismack (www.youtube.com/watch?v=61N0KH2VjlY&feature=youtu.be) Ep. 4 is out.

“We’re all in quarantine, but don’t let this take away a lot of things that’re part of your life, (such as) the daily life, routine, whether it’s your work, workout, staying healthy…. This is a part of me. I got to stay healthy, I got to stay in shape. I hope you guys are doing the same, no excuse…. Get out there and do what you got to do. Small space, big space, make it happen people.”

Masai Ujiri Speaks with Media in Toronto: Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri (Nigeria) spoke to local media in Toronto for the first time since the start of the hiatus. He reflected on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on people’s lives around and world, the importance of following public health officials’ protocols and staying connected with your close ones, and expressed his hope for Africa’s resilience in the face of the outbreak.

“It’s (about) getting ahead of it, and I’m concerned. Hopefully the underprivileged areas like the refugee camps, the poorer areas, the not-so-privileged areas all over the world — not just Africa — are taken care of in this and are looked after in this.”

“I am positive and I am proud that Africa handled the Ebola crisis very well, excellently well. It’s underrated in the world how well this was handled. If you remember, there was this amount of, I don’t want to use the word panic, but concern, too. We have handled a lot of different viruses and diseases, whether it’s Ebola or malaria.”

“I think Africa has been resilient and handled this well. I think that a lot of leaders are ahead of it and I hope that the ones that are not are starting to pay attention, because this is an unknown. This is an unseen enemy and we have to really pay attention.”

Luol Deng & Pops Mensah-Bonsu Return to Instagram Live Tonight: If you missed it on Wednesday night, former NBA players Luol Deng (South Sudan) and Pops Mensah-Bonsu (UK/Ghana) went on Instagram live to discuss their African roots, friendship and talk about starting up their basketball careers in London. In episode 2 the two legends will reflect on their high school and AAU experiences in the U.S. The chat will stream on Instagram Live (@Pops and @luoldeng9) at 9:00p.m. CAT TONIGHT.