SAN LUIS POTOSI, Mexico -- Five years after the inception of the NBA Academy venture, a pathway for the league to uncover and develop its own international talent pipeline is beginning to crystalize.
NBA Global Academy alumnus Josh Giddey was the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA draft, and seven more players who passed through various academies in Australia, Mexico, Senegal, India and China appear in the latest ESPN top 100 for the 2022 NBA draft -- far more than any high school or international club/academy.
After successfully hosting the 2021 NBA Academy Games in Mexico on Sept. 25-26, attended by dozens of NBA scouts and college coaches, it appears the NBA's multimillion-dollar investment into building academies around the globe is bearing fruit.
But room for growth remains, and some scouts, evaluators and team officials still have reservations about aspects of the venture. Where must the NBA Academy program go from here? We addressed the most prominent questions:
