Mbah a Moute: From Africa to the NBA, Without Borders

“In Africa, we’re beginning to see new countries challenging the traditional powers like Angola — the Ivory Coast, Tunisia. I’ve said this before: Africa could be a continent as important to the development of players as Eastern and Western Europe combined.” David Stern, N.B.A. commissioner

Finally the NBA is getting IT. Some of the most gifted athletes in the world come from Africa. We need more of them. We need more humble athletes who don’t forget the struggles of everyday life. We need inspirational athletes for our kids to look up to, and we need more mighty-mighty-fine men who appreciate their stance in life…and now we’ve got one. His name is Mbah a Moute (pronounced BAH-ah-MOO-tay), and he hails from Cameroon.

His journey reads like a dream come true…he didn’t play basketball until he was 14 years old. By the time he was 16, the kid from Cameroon had been chosen to attend the inaugural Basketball without Borders event in Johannesburg…within two years he was the best youth player in his country, three weeks later, Mbah a Moute was on a plane heading to Florida to attend prep school at Montverde Academy…and now, the 6’8” rookie is playing hoops with the Milwaukee Bucks, “It all happened so fast, but it changed my life.”

Following the footsteps of other great NBA players, Mbah a Moute went back to Johannesburg last week for Basketball Without Borders, where he joined Dikembe Mutombo (above), Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Vladimir Radmanovic, and DJ Mbenga, among others.

As the first alumnus of the camp, Mbah a Moute is the ultimate rags-to-riches story, and a powerful inspiration for kids participating in the N.B.A.s Basketball Without Borders program. “Three weeks after this camp I left for the U.S. and started my dream,” he told the children, “That’s why I’m back here today to tell you this is a great experience, take advantage of it.”

But the Basketball Without Borders’ athletes do much more than just talk to the kids…along with Habitat for Humanity, they’ve built 9 homes since 2007…they’ve planted gardens, played soccer, learned traditional African dances, and they’ve spent endless hours interacting with students helping them learn the fundamentals of basketball as well as life…and as evidenced above by Dwight Howard, the hotties are doing it exceptionally well.

Basketball without Borders (BWB) is the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development program that uses the sport to create positive social change in the areas of education, health and wellness. The camps have been held in Beijing, China, Mexico City, Mexico and Johannesburg, South Africa…to read more, visit the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders site…they’ve got a daily run down, including photos from a visit to the Apartheid Museum, as well as feedback from some of the players including Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh after they finished planting a peach tree for a Home Based Care Facility in Soweto.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com