Obinna Ekezie junior, son of former Nigerian NBA player Obinna Ekezie, was named Defensive MVP at the 10th annual Basketball Without Borders All-Star Camp held in Los Angeles, California, on the sidelines of the 75th NBA All-Star weekend, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The young Nigerian also formed part of the camp’s All-Star Team alongside Cheickh Niang, who plays in Italy and has ties to Senegal, and Caleb Ourigou of Ivory Coast.
Seven top African prospects participated in the camp, representing or with ties to Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal. Among them were Peter Julius of Nigeria, Noah El Baze of Morocco, Ramsey Guessagba-Sato of the Central African Republic, and Franck Belibi of Cameroon. The four-day camp was held at the UCLA Health Centre, which also serves as the Los Angeles Lakers training facility, and brought together 40 international prospects from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
On the NBA All-Star court itself, two players with direct ties to Africa featured in the 75th edition — Pascal Siakam of the Indiana Pacers, representing Cameroon, and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, who has ties to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The game introduced a USA versus World format, with the USA Stars defeating the USA Stripes 47-21. Anthony Edwards was named the 2026 Kia All-Star MVP. The game was the most-watched NBA All-Star Game in the United States in 15 years.
On the sidelines, the Basketball Africa League hosted its annual Business Cocktail, gathering more than 300 industry leaders, NBA legends and cultural figures, including 2015 NBA champion Festus Ezeli and NBA legend Charles Smith, as the BAL prepares for its sixth season, which tips off in South Africa on March 27.
South African rugby champion Siya Kolisi and Grammy Award winner Tyla were among the global icons in attendance at the All-Star weekend.
