Munya Vomo
The NBA season is upon us and former professional player, Cedric Ceballos, who played for the Phoenix Suns and LA Lakers, among others, is in the country to promote NBA Africa’s initiative to grow the game on African soil. The project, Basketball Without Borders, identifies and nurtures young players in the hope of turning them into professionals.
“We just launched a junior NBA league in Tanzania and that was great. It is going to be great to have kids play there with the facilities that have been provided. Last year’s championships in the Royal Bafokeng were phenomenal so we have huge expectations this time around,” said Ceballos.
While there is so much talent in Africa, we can’t ignore the fact that basketball is still a new game as the continent is occupied with other popular sports like football and cricket.
“There is still a lot of education that needs to happen with the game in Africa. There is little history of basketball in South Africa, but with programmes like this, it will grow into something phenomenal. We in the US are also in the learning stages of cricket and netball. Basketball is great in that you don’t need to play with the others or have a special ring, it’s all around us. You can always work on your skills in daily stuff like throwing your trash away or putting your clothes in the washing machine. The great thing about NBA Africa is giving these young people the knowledge of the game, whether you are a short guy or tall one,” said Ceballos.
The former sportsman was also part of the NBA delegation that came out for the first NBA Africa game which saw top players play against each other in Joburg.
“The NBA Africa game held here a few weeks ago was huge because that never happens anywhere in the world. This game had two rosters of active NBA players off- season playing together. All-star games are sprinkled all over the world with a few NBA players to represent the game,” he said.
For someone who played for several teams in his career, Ceballos has one team that he still supports in the league today: “I have a deep love for the LA Lakers and I grew up in Los Angeles watching them play. Playing for them in the end was really incredible,” he confessed.
Every year, the NBA releases video games under the title 2K, through PlayStation and Xbox, and Ceballos is part of that world, too.
“I play my character in video games all the time. It’s one thing my kids love so much. Playing their dad in their video game. The only time I was in the finals, we faced the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan showed up and we lost. I play that game on the video game just to change the result. You don’t realise how hard it is to get to the finals until you try again.”
He was also part of the select few who made the cut for the hit animated movie, Space Jam, which also starred Jordan: “No matter what I have achieved on the court, that my kids see me on the TV with Bugs Bunny in Space Jam is phenomenal. It made me immortal,” he said.
Like NBA players Shaquille O’Neal and Metta World Peace, Ceballos also has a love for music and has been cashing in on it.
“As a kid, I fell in love with DJing and wanted to be a part of all music genres. After playing the game, I used my popularity to open doors. Like music, basketball has rhythm so I have used that to make sounds of my own.”
The NBA’s season starts tomorrow and specific games will be aired on SuperSport.
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Tonight is giving away Xbox and PlayStation games for the NBA 2k16 title to lucky winners.
To stand a chance to win, answer the following question: Which team won the NBA Championship last season?
Send your name, city, console and number to [email protected] by Wednesday.