Manchester, England – August 2025
Ok, so the deal is- we Brits have been watching NBA on our sofas, fantasising about making the perfect dunk like Lebron and quite aware that we might even fall over our own feet. But here is the thing. Big league finally hit town in Manchester and it was not a jolie.
Basketball without Borders opened up business in Manchester for the first time and underwent an exercise of bringing 60 of the hottest so-called young basketballers in Europe (including 7 true British children), and it was simply basketball boot camp on steroids. And I am not talking some weekend rec league bullsh-t, they were allowed to train with real NBA and WNBA legends.
Imagine you are at the age of 17, still do not know how to parallel park your car, and suddenly you are facing off against Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac. Mental, right?
Nick Nurse of the Philadelphia 76ers (the man who basically is royalty in basketball terms when it comes to coaching, having coached half the UK in the 90s) uttered this little gem on BBC Sport:
There is almost a sure bet that 1 or more of the people playing out there are going to be in the NBA or the WNBA. It is always great to see them here at this age and then years later say, I remember Manchester.
That confidence is the stuff that gets you hyped, mate.
Why This Really Matters (and it is not hype at all)
Just passing by Basketball without Borders is not a marketing maneuver dreamt up by a board of directors. It started in 2001, touring Asia, Africa, and the Americas, this program is basically a talent factory. Joel Embiid? Located at one of such camps. Pascal Siakam? Same story. Such camps are rightful talent goldmines.
The NBA brought us a circus, and they took it to the UK, that alone makes them start to respect us. Not just this camp, though, because they have already announced that NBA games will be returning to London in 2026 and Manchester in 2027. By the way, the first time since 2019.
But the thing is – although basketball has been quietly gaining popularity and support in this country (Sport England reports that we now have 27 percent more young players than we did in 2015), we remain pretty terrible at being able to make NBA players on the competitive level. At the moment, there are literally just three English-born NBA players. Three! Um yeah–that is embarrassing, innit?
What Happened Down at the Court
In addition to Zubac demonstrating to the kids how it is done, the camp included WNBA players, coaches, NBA veterans swapping war stories and imparting knowledge. It was not all about crossovers and jump shots, as this is what these pros were speaking about the grind, the sacrifices, and the entire ride.
Ethan Maxwell (17 years old, the British 2012 lads, apparently quite good going as one of Europe’s top guards) summed it up: “This is the first time I have been on court with this amount of talent and nationalities”.
Bravo to himself. Proper intimidating must have been.
A Blink Reality Check Comes to UK Basketball
Come on, football is still king here, and will forever be king here. Basketball has, however, been that friend who is having a cleanup of life, as everyone is busy with drama on the other side.
The British basketball league has been knocking around since 1987, and yes, we actually had that brief glory in 2012 during London 2012 when Team GB… finally got to the Olympics. For most of the time, British basketball is like it is running on fumes and good intentions.
Nick Nurse can tell you this more than anyone, the bloke coached in Derby, Birmingham, Manchester, London, and Brighton. That is pretty much a grassroots tour of UK basketball, and I can tell you, grassroots is a very kind term to describe some of these facilities.
The NBA has had a go at the entire UK experience previously, taking games to London between 2011-2019, but when there is not the right British talent occupying the roster, it was a bit like attending your own family reunion, but watching someone else party. It is possible that this camp can alter that.
See the Later Consequences (The High-Stakes Bit)
So this is how the whole Basketball without Borders concept works:
Four camps annually (Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe)
The best athletes of each camp will receive an invitation to the global camp during NBA All-Star Weekend
All the NBA teams have scouts in these regional events
That is more or less the case; when you burn it up in Manchester, you may quite literally get your foot in the big leagues in a short span of time. None of this pressure, kids.
Any drill, any scrimmage, any time anyone pulled out the handles, people who might get these teenagers into the NBA were watching. Prim half nerve-wracking stuff.
The Reason This May Change Everything
That to me is not another basketball story. This is regarding giving British children a legitimate crack at something huge, at last. Basketball here has been forever floundering around in this perverse circle of no stars, no coverage, hence no stars. Dizzy round and round we go.
This camp and the resumption of the NBA games could possibly break that cycle, however. Not inspiration, on its own (although that is huge), but providing real stepping stones for these kids to succeed.
The tricky part? Keeping this going. This is a camp that is in the news a week, something that takes years of grinding to build a good basketball program, and hopefully, one of these days NBA teams will be rethinking their choices in recruiting the next Amari Williams (Boston Celtics draft pick who was discovered in a camp in Latvia) by continuing to invest here.
Who knows? Perhaps within a couple of years, we might have more than three British in the NBA. Springtime would be grand.
