The NBA will be the first ever professional sports league to visit Cuba. In the next month, the NBA will host a developmental camp in Cuba, where Steve Nash and Dikembe Mutumbo will be main leaders in.
According to the official NBA press release:
“The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced today that they will host their first joint basketball development camp in Havana, Cuba April 23-26.
Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, NBA Global Ambassador Dikembe Mutombo, and WNBA Legend Ticha Penicheiro will lead the four-day camp with the Cuban Men’s and Women’s National Teams, and community outreach projects in association with the Cuban sports ministry, INDER, and the Cuban Basketball Federation (CBF). …
“We’ve seen the bridges that basketball can build between cultures,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum. “We look forward to SHARING the values of our game with Cuban youth and learning together through the common language of sports.”
In December, President Barack Obama announced that he will be normalizing relations with Cuba after a long drought of not being able to visit for Americans. The NBA has been expanding quickly as a global brand, with major programs with Africa, Asia and Europe. Cuba and South America would be huge for them.
