Basketball Without Borders, the NBA and FIBA's global development program, celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Over the past two-plus decades, it has served as a launching pad for some of the game's best players: reigning two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 2023 MVP Joel Embiid, four-time All-Star Pascal Siakam and 2023 champion Jamal Murray. The prospects who take part aren't the only ones who benefit.
"I think it's really cool how much they always end up teaching me, because I get to take a step back," Magic guard Jalen Suggs told CBS Sports last week in an interview from Istanbul, Türkiye. "I'm not the player anymore, now I'm the coach, I'm the vet. I'm the one who's here to share knowledge and help them grow.
I really love that and I think that always helps bring me a new perspective, both on the game and more importantly in life and as a human." Suggs was one of a handful of NBA players, including Khris Middleton, who served as coaches last week in Türkiye as part of Basketball Without Borders' inaugural men's "Next Up" camp. Along with various NBA coaches and personnel, Suggs and Middleton led players through athletic testing, skill development sessions, life skills seminars and 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 games at Basketbol Gelişim Merkezi. In conjunction with BWB's 25th anniversary, the NBA and FIBA developed a new format consisting of two annual camps for the top 80 male and female prospects outside the United States.
The inaugural women's Next Up camp will take place this fall at a yet-to-be-announced location. Top players at each Next Up camp will be invited to the annual BWB All-Star camps at NBA and WNBA All-Star Weekends. Why did the NBA and FIBA decide to change the format of BWB?
"We felt it was important to meet the game where it's at," NBA Director of Elite Basketball Brendan McKillop told CBS Sports. "I think what we've seen is the ceiling of Basketball Without Borders prospects is a future elite NBA player, but the floor has gotten higher and higher every year. Players who come from countries who historically don't have basketball talent, those players are getting better and better, so the world is truly competitive." Historically, each BWB cycle consisted of four regional camps: one in Africa, one in the Americas, one in the Asia-Pacific region and one in Europe.
Now, all of those players will come together at the Next Up camp to have "the best compete against the best," said McKillop, the son of longtime Davidson coach Bob McKillop. Over BWB's 25-year history, nearly 5,000 players from 149 countries and territories have participated, and 155 former campers have appeared in an NBA or WNBA game. In Istanbul last week, there were players from 44 countries and territories across six continents.
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