Seven top African prospects from Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Nigeria, and players with ties to Senegal participated in the 10th Annual Basketball Without Borders (BWB) All-Star Camp this past weekend in Los Angeles, California.
Obinna Ekezie, son of former Nigerian NBA player Obinna Ekezie Sr. was awarded the Defensive MVP and formed part of the All-Star Team alongside Cheickh Niang (Italy; ties to Senegal) and Caleb Ourigou (Cote d’Ivoire).
The trio alongside Franck Belibi (Cameroon), Peter Julius (Nigeria), Noah El Baze (Morocco), and BWB Africa 2025 Boys All-Star and NBA Academy Africa prospect, Ramsey Guessagba-Sato (Central Africa Republic) represented Africa at the camp.
The camp brought together 40 international prospects from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania to participate in athletic testing, movement efficiency, skill development stations, 3-on-3 competitions, life-skills seminars, and 5-on-5 games under the guidance of current and former NBA and FIBA players, legends and coaches, including Danilo Gallinari (Italy) and James Gist to participate in the four-day camp at the UCLA Health Centre, also the Los Angeles Lakers training facility.
Several members of the NBA Coaching Development Program (CDP), which assists former players who are looking to transition into the coaching ranks and further deepens the pipeline of coaching talent across leagues, served as BWB All-Star 2026 coaches, including former NBA players Scotty Hopson, Khalid El-Amin and Craig Smith, and former WNBA player Meighan Simmons.
Patrick Hunt (President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches; Australia), Chris Ebersole (Los Angeles Lakers Director of Player Development and Experience) and Luca Desta (longtime NBA front office executive; Ethiopia) served as the camp directors.
Meanwhile, the final day of the camp concluded with African prospects receiving camp honours.
2026 All-Stars
Cheickh Niang (Italy; ties to Senegal)
Caleb Ourigou (Cameroon)
Obinna Ekezie (Nigeria)
Defensive MVP
Obinna Ekezie (Nigeria)
