By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

ALREADY one of the biggest sports brands in the world, the National Basketball Association (NBA) knows there is always room for growth and it was happy to share that it is going in that direction, aided, among others, by the growing number of international talent joining its family.

In a global media conference call last week, NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum said there is no denying how international influence has done wonders for The Association in becoming the league it is today.

And it is set to continue with players like Kai Sotto of the Philippines choosing to continue to develop their game through the NBA.

“We see incredible excitement in the Philippines as a result of Kai Sotto’s involvement with Team Ignite,” said Mr. Tatum of Mr. Sotto, who is playing for Team Ignite in the NBA G League.

“What we see is continued unprecedented interest in the game in the Philippines and other parts of the world. Players like Kai, who grew up in our Jr. NBA program and is now playing in the G League, that will [spur] development of players coming from around the rest of the world,” the NBA executive added.

Mr. Sotto is among the players of champion NBA player and coach Brian Shaw at Team Ignite.

The team is composed of standout talents from different parts of the world under a program designed to develop young players and, hopefully, prepare them for the NBA Draft and provide them with professional life skills that they could use in and out of the court.

Mr. Sotto is joined in the team by Filipino-American Jalen Green, among the top prospects in next year’s draft, as well as Princepal Singh, an NBA Academy graduate from India.

“We are continuing to invest at the grassroots level in Jr. NBA programs around the world, in Basketball School programs around the world, and then NBA Academies in certain parts of the world continue that process of developing elite talent that will eventually play in our league,” said Mr. Tatum in describing one of the ways they are tapping to fortify the league.

As the NBA rolled out its 2020-21 season last week, 107 international players from 41 countries were part of opening-night rosters.

It marked the seventh consecutive season that opening-night rosters featured at least 100 international players.

All 30 teams have at least one international player.

Canada (17 players) is the most-represented country outside of the United States, followed by France (nine players), Australia (eight players), Serbia and Germany (six players each).

The Washington Wizards have an NBA-high seven international players. The Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets each have six, while the New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors each have five.

There are also a number of American players with ties to other countries, including more than 30 players with at least one parent from Africa. Among the American players with ties to other countries are Jordan Clarkson (Utah Jazz; ties to the Philippines), Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers; ties to Nigeria), Matisse Thybulle (Philadelphia 76ers; ties to Australia and Haiti), and Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves; ties to the Dominican Republic).

BEING READY
Meanwhile, Mr. Tatum also took time to discuss the uncertain times with the coronavirus pandemic and how they are being ready for any eventuality.

“We’re obviously very closely monitoring the situation with the pandemic here in the United States and in our cities. We feel very confident in our protocols, in working with our medical experts, public health officials, the Players Association, and our teams that we have the sort of protocols that will keep us safe and healthy,” he said.

Adding, “There’s going to be a level of uncertainty here, and we’re managing through that and we’re monitoring it every single day. We need to remain flexible, and we understand that.”

One of the ways they are going about it, Mr. Tatum said, is managing the season schedule.

They released the schedule only for the first half of the season last Dec. 22, recognizing the flexibility needed to adjust to situations that lie ahead, and is set to release the schedule for the second half on March 4.

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