Las Vegas welcomed some special guests as the Jr. NBA brought out the youth during the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2023 and NBA 2K24 Summer League 2023. The Jr. NBA showcases the talent of the top 40 elite 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls from 17 countries.
The players are coached by Terri Bamford Women’s Basketball Coach at LJCDS since 1999, along with being a Nike Basketball Camp Director since 1997. Nesma Khalifa University of Cincinnati Basketball player , Djordje Opacic basketball coach at Basketball Club International and Marcel Smith a Detroit-based young professional and multi-faceted entrepreneur, as well as the Detroit Pistons nominee for the annual Jr. NBA Coach of the Year Award.
The players had a jammed packed weekend with team practices, skill and development workouts, competitions and leadership development. Day One took place at the Michelob ULTRA Arena and consisted of The Jr. NBA Showcase Skills Competition presented by Gatorade featuring three-point, dunk and skills contests.
Day Two featured an on-court training session and team practices at Doral Academy, along with a girls exhibition game at Cox Pavilion which took place first and ended with a boys exhibition game at Cox Pavilion. The Jr. NBA Showcase exhibition games will stream live on the NBA App and air on NBA TV at a later date.
The Jr. NBA is focused on helping grow and improve the youth basketball experience at the grassroots level for players, coaches and parents, and offers a free curriculum covering all levels of the game that includes 48 practice plans and more than 250 instructional videos featuring NBA and WNBA players.
During the 2021-22 season, the Jr. NBA reached 41.4 million youth in 160 countries through a network of affiliated youth basketball organizations as well as in-person and online events and clinics.
Nike, Gatorade and Wilson are official partners of the Jr. NBA.
For more information on the Jr. NBA program fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here: