JOHANNESBURG — Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, the biggest name in basketball right now, has expressed an interest in playing at the NBA Africa game in future, according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
James, who joined the Lakers as a free agent from Cleveland this offseason in a blockbuster move, has never appeared in the African exhibition game, but according to Silver, King James would be open to it if his schedule allowed.
James would be the biggest name to ever make the trip for the exhibition game, which sees Team Africa, with Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid as captain, take on Team World.
Silver, speaking in Johannesburg to assembled media on Saturday ahead of the 2018 game, said in response to questions about James’ intentions: “The way the Africa game works is that the players who come are volunteers … they ask to come.
“Both Amadou [Gallo Fall, NBA managing director for Africa] and I have spoken directly to LeBron James and he has stated that he would very much like to come to Africa and be part of the game.
“I will say on his behalf that he has an extraordinarily complicated schedule, even in the offseason, and he is someone who for the last eight years has played in the NBA finals.
“So his season has gone from September to late June, so he has a very short break. During those summers he also often plays for the national team, Olympic Games, things like that.
“I know it’s high on his list of priorities. I don’t want to put undue pressure on him, but I’m sure that at some point he will make the trip.”
Silver added that Michael Jordan, along with James the main topic of debate for the title of ‘Greatest Of All Time,’ was also interested in attending in future, much like legends like Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have done.
Silver revealed: “Michael Jordan is someone we have talked to as well, and he is fascinated by the growth of the NBA business in Africa.”
During the roundtable, Silver also revealed that the league was looking into developing a Pan-African league, and said that Nigeria would be a frontrunner to host a potential regular season game on the continent.
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