MELBOURNE and NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Basketball Australia (BA) today announced their plan to launch NBA Global Academy, the NBA’s elite training center at BA’s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

NBA Global Academy, which will serve as the NBA’s global hub for top international prospects from around the world, will be the NBA’s fourth elite training center after recently launching NBA Academies in Hangzhou, Jinan and Urumqi, China.  Prospects from around the world will begin enrolling at NBA Global Academy in the coming weeks.

“Basketball Australia is thrilled to partner with the NBA on the development of promising young talent from around the world,” said Basketball Australia Chief Executive Officer Anthony Moore.  “Our Centre of Excellence has a wonderful track record of producing athletes who can compete on the world stage, and we welcome the opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with the NBA.”

“NBA Global Academy will allow top prospects from around the world to train with and compete against their peers in a structured environment under the supervision of NBA-trained coaches and in collaboration with BA’s internationally recognized coaches,” said NBA Vice President, International Basketball Operations Brooks Meek.  “On behalf of the NBA, we look forward to working with Basketball Australia on this initiative and helping elite prospects reach their full potential.”

NBA Academies, which will consist of a network of elite training centers around the world, include educational development for top international male and female prospects and mark the NBA’s most significant investment in elite player development.  The initiative will support existing international basketball academies by exposing elite prospects to NBA-level coaching, facilities and competition and by providing a global framework for elite-level prospects to maximize their success.

NBA Academies will employ a holistic, 360-degree approach to player development extending beyond the court by focusing on education, leadership, character development and life skills.  The initiative builds on the NBA’s existing grassroots programming, including Jr. NBA and NBA 3X, which engaged more than 12 million youth during the 2015-16 season.

Each elite training center will be staffed with NBA-trained coaches to foster the development of prospects on and off the court, both during and after their basketball careers.  Each center will house under-16 and under-18 teams that will compete against top competition throughout the year.  The top students at each center will have an opportunity to be selected for travel teams that will play in international tournaments and exhibition games.

NBA Global Academy will take advantage of BA’s Centre of Excellence location at the world-renowned Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).  The AIS campus in Canberra is home to world-class, elite high-performance facilities and leading sports practitioners in the fields of sports science, sports medicine and coaching.  AIS is a world leader in high performance and is the flagship of the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Government’s sports agency.

Basketball Australia previously supported the NBA and FIBA’s Basketball without Borders (BWB) Asia camp, which was held in Australia for the first time at Dandenong Basketball Stadium in Melbourne in June 2016.

The NBA will announce additional elite training centers in the coming months.