How Basketball Without Borders continues to find new waves of international NBA talent after 25 years

Basketball Without Borders, the NBA and FIBA's global development program, celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Over the past two-plus decades, it has served as a launching pad for some of the game's best players: reigning two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 2023 MVP Joel Embiid, four-time All-Star Pascal Siakam and 2023 champion Jamal Murray. The prospects who take part aren't the only ones who benefit. "I think it's really cool how much they always end up teaching me, because I get to take a step back," Magic guard Jalen Suggs told CBS Sports last week in an interview from Istanbul, Türkiye. "I'm not the player anymore, now I'm the coach, I'm the vet. I'm the one who's here to share knowledge and help them grow. I really love that and I think that always helps bring me a new perspective, both on the game and more importantly in life and as a human." Suggs was one of a handful of NBA players, including Khris Middleton, who served as coaches last week in Türkiye as part of Basketball Without Borders' inaugural men's "Next Up" camp. Along with various NBA coaches and personnel, Suggs and Middleton led players through athletic testing, skill development sessions, life skills seminars and 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 games at Basketbol Gelişim Merkezi. In conjunction with BWB's 25th anniversary, the NBA and FIBA developed a new format consisting of two annual camps for the top 80 male and female prospects outside the United States. The inaugural women's Next Up camp will take place this fall at a yet-to-be-announced location. Top players at each Next Up camp will be invited to the annual BWB All-Star camps at NBA and WNBA All-Star Weekends. Why did the NBA and FIBA decide to change the format of BWB? "We felt it was important to meet the game where it's at," NBA Director of Elite Basketball Brendan McKillop told CBS Sports. "I think what we've seen is the ceiling of Basketball Without Borders prospects is a future elite NBA player, but the floor has gotten higher and higher every year. Players who come from countries who historically don't have basketball talent, those players are getting better and better, so the world is truly competitive." How Basketball Without Borders can 'change lives'Historically, each BWB cycle consisted of four regional camps: one in Africa, one in the Americas, one in the Asia-Pacific region and one in Europe. Now, all of those players will come together at the Next Up camp to have "the best compete against the best," said McKillop, the son of longtime Davidson coach Bob McKillop. Over BWB's 25-year history, nearly 5,000 players from 149 countries and territories have participated, and 155 former campers have appeared in an NBA or WNBA game. In Istanbul last week, there were players from 44 countries and territories across six continents. Standouts included Serbian forward Matija Lukic, who was named camp MVP, and Portuguese forward Miguel Sousa, the camp's defensive MVP. "These kids are talented, dude. They have the skillset, they have the IQ and the intelligence to play the game of basketball at a high level, and they're athletic," Suggs said. The process of identifying players for BWB camps starts with a group inside the NBA whose sole focus is scouting. McKillop, who played alongside Stephen Curry on the 2008 Davidson team that reached the Elite Eight, oversees that group, which attends every FIBA event and international tournament and tries to be in as many gyms around the world as possible throughout the year. Of course, they can't see every player and every game in person, so they also have connections with clubs, federations, coaches and agents to make sure they "leave no stone unturned," McKillop said. Eventually, the NBA and FIBA can build out an international depth chart for every class of players. Bringing the best together at one camp every year will benefit the prospects, particularly those from weaker regions who may not regularly face elite competition or be seen by scouts. "There are a lot of kids who this is their first exposure opportunity and a lot of kids will use this to launch themselves into whatever's next," McKillop said. "I don't want to make it overly serious… but I really do think it does change some kids' lives." One centralized event is also much easier for NBA teams, who cannot have contact with any of the players but have full access to watch all of the on-court action. In Istanbul, there were dozens of scouts from across the league. "There's obviously the growth of the game and the development, but we also want to bring value to our teams," McKillop said. "That's a big part of why we make this investment." To bring the event full circle, BWB recruits current NBA players to serve as coaches. Throughout each NBA season, one person on McKillop's staff is tasked with traveling to visit with all 30 teams to develop relationships and speak with front offices and coaches about players they think would be a good fit. Sometimes, those are players who were once BWB campers. Embiid has previously served as a coach, and Danilo Gallinari was involved in Istanbul. More often, though, they are players who just want to make a difference. "I'm a big fan of just trying to help spread the game, help the young kids from around the world become NBA players and professionals," Middleton told CBS Sports. "It's just teaching the game and being a guy at this camp that many players can look up to and see an NBA player, ask them questions and get coaching from them. I think it helps with the nerves. A lot of these kids are definitely nervous, and for me, it's just to tell them that, you know, it's OK. We've all been through this. We're just playing basketball. Go out there and enjoy the moment, have fun, play as hard as you can and compete. That's all you have to worry about."Once a player says yes once, they often keep coming back. Both Suggs and Middleton were also at BWB in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2023, and hope to be involved in the future. "It's really special because they're not paid an appearance fee to be here," McKillop said. "It's completely voluntary. They have really short offseasons, and it takes a lot for somebody to give up a week's worth of time to be in the gym with a bunch of kids. We at the NBA are so appreciative of all the players and coaches and performance staff that are willing to volunteer their time and make this as impactful as it is." NBA's international explosion has coincided with BWBYou can track the growth of the international game along with Basketball Without Borders. In 1995, six years before the program started, there were 24 NBA players born outside the United States. Last season, there were more than five times that many -- a record 135 on opening night rosters, including more than 50 former BWB campers. From 1947 through 2001, just three non-American players -- Mychal Thompson in 1978, Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984 and Michael Olowokandi in 1998 -- were selected No. 1 overall. In the BWB era, there have been nine international No. 1 picks. And, most notably, there was just one non-American MVP prior to the creation of BWB: Olajuwon in 1994. Since BWB started, there have been 11 international MVPs, and an American hasn't won the league's highest individual honor since James Harden in 2018. "I think we used to have maybe one or two foreign guys on each roster," said Middleton, who has been in the league since 2012 and spent the majority of his career with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. "Now I feel like every team that's half the roster, or maybe even more than half, which is great. It means all the programs the NBA and FIBA are putting on are working." Middleton said that he enjoys seeing the "different styles" that international players bring to the NBA: "There's so many styles that can work on the basketball court as long as the ball goes in.""I love the way that the game is taught over here. It's a lot like soccer in a way that it's taught -- move, pass, cut, all work together to create a great shot, and I love that," Suggs said. "I've studied a lot of soccer recently in my own right to continue to get closer and further understand [Magic teammates] Franz [Wagner], Tristan [da Silva] and all the overseas guys we have over there. So I love it, man. It's really cool how the game is growing." For McKillop and everyone at the NBA, the "snowball effect" has been a thrill. "The more that young people see basketball as a potential future in their life, the more they want to play it and the more success stories we see," McKillop said. Now that the new BWB format is up and running, the big agenda items for the NBA on the international scene are continuing to grow the Basketball Africa League, which started in 2021, and getting the NBA Europe League off the ground. The current plan is to launch the NBA Europe League in the fall of 2027 with 16 teams, but nothing has been finalized. "There is so much change coming in the near future," McKillop said. "But it's clear that this is a global game and I think other parts of the world are very quickly catching up to the U.S. and Europe in how they develop the infrastructure they build and the investment they make into the game. So I think it's just going to continue to grow."Whatever happens down the line, Suggs will be a part of it. "I see a lot of myself in [the BWB campers]. Chasing the hoop dream is so fun," Suggs said. "There's so many sacrifices that come into it. It's such a physical grind as well as mental, so just being able to have a space and opportunity to have conversations, let them ask questions and share all the knowledge and wisdom I've gained over the years from my vets and coaches in hopes that they take a couple of gems with them that they're able to apply to their journey." And maybe Suggs will find himself coaching a future teammate or opponent. "I think that's my favorite part is truly getting to speak and converse with these kids," Suggs said. "I love that further opportunities are being presented so that these kids have a chance to play professionally and get more eyes on them… I'm just very excited to see how the game continues to evolve and the talent that keeps coming out of here that hopefully I'll get the chance to play against."