NBA share grand vision for Global Academy development hub in Canberra

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Basketball Centre of Excellence at Bruce has a long and proud history of producing the nation's best basketball talent, with many alumni who have walked those courts going on to become Boomers and Opals.

But that proven program has been turbo-charged by the NBA Global Academy in just a few years, and as the name suggests, not just Australian, but world-class players are now coming through the capital.

This week the Basketball Without Borders Asia camp, a joint program run by the NBA and FIBA for 60 Australian and international kids, saw some of the world's most influential people in the game descend on the AIS, with a handful of NBA and WNBA stars and coaches also in tow, and even the USA's Ambassador to Australia.

Patty Mills' Indigenous Basketball Australia organisation also hosted free youth clinics, and that momentum continues with Basketball ACT hosting a delegation from FIBA, Basketball Singapore and Sport Singapore.

Chris Ebersole, NBA International Basketball Operations and Elite Basketball associate vice-president said hosting the Basketball Without Borders event in Canberra for the first time was a no-brainer, with the Global Academy a key focus of investment.

"Supporting Basketball Without Borders to come to Canberra, in what we call our Australian home because the academy is based here, it just made so much sense," Ebersole said.

"We're so thrilled to finally be able to do it. It's something that we've talked about doing for many years."

For the NBA, the academy has produced better and faster than expected results as seen with their two most recent graduates, Aussies Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels.

That, Ebersole said, is a credit to the AIS and Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence holistic model that has inspired their other satellite development hubs around the world.

"It's really impressive, and it's part of the reasons why this was one of the first academies we started. We really leaned on the AIS and Basketball Australia as a model," he said.

"In a lot of ways we tried to replicate a lot of the best practices that go on here and adopt them at other academies around the world in Latin America and Africa.

"I definitely think Australia punches above its weight, in terms of basketball success.

"We know that there's actually a lot we can learn from from Basketball Australia and all the great basketball experts that are coming from here."

The NBA has a grand vision for what they can still achieve with the Global Academy based in Canberra too.

"The entire basketball pipeline is really what we're trying to develop," Ebersole said.

"We want a young player to have a really comprehensive pathway from first picking up a basketball at five years old, all the way up the NBA - that's our focus.

"Now that we've had some of the proof of concept with Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels being drafted into the NBA, continuing the history here, these Basketball Without Borders campers are in the same shoes as those players, and that's a real inspiration to know that anything is possible."

Olympic bronze medallist with the Boomers, Josh Green, was a Basketball Without Borders camper in 2018. The Dallas Mavericks star was in awe at the talent on show this week in Canberra.

"It's a weird situation giving advice to these guys because I'm only four or five years older than some of them," the 21-year-old said.

"There's a good amount of guys who could potentially be in the Australia team whether it's next month or next Olympics, so that's fun to see the next group come through.

"There's definitely a lot of talent."

The NBA's investment in Canberra also attracted the Minister for Sport, Anika Wells, and USA's Ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, to support those at the camp, as well as the cultural exchange that comes along with playing a global sport like basketball.

"I think sports diplomacy is really important right now," Minister Wells, a keen netballer who now enjoys the occasional pick-up game of basketball with other politicians on the hill, said.

"Everything we can do from the Australian end to support teamwork and camaraderie across different nations within the Asia Pacific is a great thing."

"I think it really shows the power of sports to bring people together from different countries," Ambassador Kennedy said.

"It's exciting that that people are going to the NBA and then coming back here and sharing their skills and knowledge with the next group coming up.

"This is my first time at the AIS, and it's incredible. What a great facility to have, and I know Australia just crushed it at the Commonwealth Games too."

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