Basketball

11 Jul

NBA Star To Become First Black Greek Olympic Flagbearer

Wontumi1SportsBasketball, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece, olympics

Greek basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo is to become the first black athlete to bear the flag for Greece at the Olympics. The two-time NBA MVP will carry the flag alongside racewalker Antigoni Ntrismpioti in Paris on 26 July. The Greek men’s basketball team qualified for its first Olympic Games since 2008, after beating Croatia in front of a home crowd in Piraeus on Sunday. The 29-year-old, who was drafted by Milwaukee Bucks in 2013 and led them to the 2021 NBA title, was in tears after the game. “It’s an incredible feeling,” he said after qualification. “Since I was a…

24 Oct

NBA 2023-24: Wembanyama And Bol Among Five Africans To Watch In New Season

Wontumi1SportsBasketball, NBA

On the eve of the new NBA season, the profile of African basketball is riding high. That is thanks largely to the performances of Joel Embiid, who last season became the first African-born NBA star to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994. Two-time NBA champion Olajuwon was born in Nigeria but opted to represent the USA as part of the so-called “Dream Team” at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, a decision that Philadelphia 76ers centre Embiid recently mimicked, much to the disappointment of those in his birth country Cameroon. Like Embiid and Olajuwon, many legendary…