Embiid, Porzingis, Dirk highlight 2017 NBA Africa Game rosters
The NBA is taking its talents to South Africa.
A selection of basketball's best and brightest, including Cameroonian-born Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, will head to Johannesburg for the second edition of the NBA Africa Game, the NBA and NBA Players Association announced Thursday.
While the NBA's annual Basketball Without Borders program, now in its 15th year, has long brought NBA ambassadors overseas to grow the game, this year's Aug. 5 showcase marks the second occurrence of the NBA Africa Game.
At the inaugural event in 2015, also held in Johannesburg, Team World defeated Team Africa 101-97. Team World's Chris Paul and Team Africa's Luol Deng were named the co-MVPs while African-born Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo also took the floor in the exhibition.
Here are the rosters for this year's event:
Team Africa
| PLAYER | TEAM | AFFILIATION |
|---|---|---|
| PG Emmanuel Mudiay | DEN | Democratic Rep. of the Congo |
| SG Dennis Schroder | ATL | Gambia |
| SG Victor Oladipo | IND | Nigeria |
| SF Luol Deng | LAL | South Sudan |
| SF Thabo Sefolosha | UTA | South Africa |
| SF Luc Richard Mbah a Moute | FA | Cameroon |
| PF Gorgui Dieng | MIN | Senegal |
| PF Serge Ibaka | TOR | Congo |
| C Bismack Biyombo | ORL | Democratic Rep. of the Congo |
| C Clint Capela | HOU | Angola/Congo |
| C Joel Embiid | PHI | Cameroon |
| C Salah Mejri | DAL | Tunisia |
Team World
| PLAYER | TEAM | AFFILIATION |
|---|---|---|
| PG Kyle Lowry | TOR | United States |
| PG Kemba Walker | CHA | United States |
| SG Leandro Barbosa | FA | Brazil |
| SG Courtney Lee | NYK | United States |
| SG C.J. McCollum | POR | United States |
| SF Jaylen Brown | BOS | United States |
| SF Wilson Chandler | DEN | United States |
| PF Dirk Nowitzki | DAL | Germany |
| PF Kristaps Porzingis | NYK | Latvia |
| C DeMarcus Cousins | NOP | United States |
| C Andre Drummond | DET | United States |
The captains for Team Africa are Deng and Sefolosha; Nowitzki and Walker will captain Team World.
HEADLINES
- NBA Cup roundup: Warriors advance to next round, Giannis dominates
- Pacers' Haliburton after loss to Bucks: 'I've got to be better'
- Embiid out Sunday vs. Clippers to manage knee swelling
- 5 role players making star-level impacts this season
- Giannis gets triple-double as Bucks beat slumping Pacers in NBA Cup play