There are currently over 100 international players in the NBA. Despite being the world’s second-largest continent, Africa has only directly produced a dozen and a half of those players. Given that an estimated three-fourths of NBA players are African-American, this is pretty ironic. Yet, it also illuminates the reality that what Africa needs most is investment.
Pascal Siakam Leads Charge for Africa’s Next Generation Players
This past weekend, the 2026 NBA All-Star tournament had a USA vs. The World format that was designed to draw attention to both the game itself and the league’s talents. The international roster had 11 players, including injury replacements. Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was the only one born in Africa.
“I think for me, I just love being African –being Cameroonian,” Siakam says when approached by media. “And I just want to represent my roots and where I’m from. And I know that I was blessed enough to be here. But I also know there’s like a thousand other people that’s probably even more talented, or gifted, than me that don’t have that opportunity.”
Pascal Siakam🇨🇲shares his pride in representing Africa on the global stage.
Coming from Cameroon, he knows first-hand how much talent is still waiting to be discovered, and he praises NBA Africa for pushing the game forward across the continent.#NBAAfrica #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/4CHpBrFWhc
— NBA Africa (@NBA_Africa) February 17, 2026
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“So, I just think that continuing to showcase that… The NBA’s doing a great job of bringing that a little bit. And I think that everyone should just know how rich the continent is and the resources is just what’s needed.”
By representing Cameroon loudly and proudly, Siakam is certainly making it known that Africa has real hoopers. Perhaps even more importantly though, he’s letting African players know it’s okay to be African.
With all due respect, that’s just not the message that Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid sends when he chooses to play for Team USA instead of the Cameroonian national team in the Olympics. It’s not the vibe one gets from Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s a full-blooded Nigerian but only markets himself as a Greek. In a similar vein, many fans don’t even know that San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is half-French, half-Congolese.
Who’ll Be The Leader of the New School?
Regrettably, Siakam doesn’t enjoy the star power of the aforementioned players so he won’t have as long of a reach. Even so, his message is not only poignant but empowering. That being said, while national draft experts tend to focus on prospects that were born in America or Europe, Africa’s getting the infrastructure that it needs to be a basketball factory itself.
NBA Africa, founded in 2021, operates both the NBA Africa Academy and the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Through the NBA Africa Academy, young players receive hands-on training to aid their development. They may then go on to participate in the BAL, a professional basketball league with 12 teams based in African countries. They could even opt to go the college route, like Florida Gators draft prospect Reuben Chinyelu. However, like Phoenix Suns lottery pick Khaman Maluach, the ultimate goal is to reach the NBA.
This season, there hasn’t been an African-born player that’s received as much hype that Maluach did, let alone Embiid. At the same time, there are a couple that can be the leaders of Africa’s next generation of NBA players.
AJ Dybantsa
BYU’s star freshman AJ Dybantsa is half-Congolese through his father (Anicet Dybantsa Sr.) and half-Jamaican through his mother (Chelsea Dybantsa). When the Boston native chose to play for the World Team during the 2024 Nike Hoop Summit, wearing Jamaican and Congolese flags on his jersey, he showed the pride he has. When he arrived in Jamaica after a devastating hurricane to provide aid and donations, he showed what kind of heart he has.
Tounde Yessoufou
Last year, Baylor freshman Tounde Yessoufou‘s name was in the same breath as Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards. Putting up 18.7 points per game, just shy of Edward’s college average (19.1 points per game), he’s going to be in the lottery conversation if he declares for the 2026 NBA Draft. That would make him not only the first Beninese player to be drafted in the lottery, but to make it to the league, period.
Jonathan Kuminga
Atlanta Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga has garnered so much attention that he could easily break into the All-Star realm if his play matches. Expectations aside, Kuminga attempted to play for his home country (the Democratic Republic of Congo) during FIBA AfroBasket 2025, first suiting up for them in 2023. Living in America for a few years hasn’t stopped him from identifying with his roots.
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