An Englishman in New York (or Chicago)
Much of the recent success of Team GB basketball must be put down to the arrival of NBA superstar Luol Deng, who instantly became a leader to a group of players who up until that point had not played with a genuine world superstar.
Deng led the team in points scoring throughout their successful campaign to qualify for this summer’s EuroBasket competition in Poland, and has proved to be worth every penny that Team GB decided to spend on his insurance.
Undoubtedly, the future success of Team GB basketball relies heavily on the number of NBA-standard players they have in their ranks, as evidence by the success of Spain at last year’s Olympics when they ran Team USA so close in the Gold Medal game.
Deng, who was born in the Sudan, but spent the majority of his childhood in the UK, has become a real talisman for Team GB basketball both on and off the court, and could have made his greatest contribution to date in convincing Chicago Bulls team-mate Ben Gordon to commit to the Team GB cause.
Gordon, who was born in Wembley before moving to America during his infancy, has been rather more hesitant than Deng in committing to the land of his birth, but after being named in Team GB’s squad for the EuroBasket finals in Poland this September, there is great hope amongst everyone connected to the team that the fans will finally get to see Gordon take to the court in a Team GB jersey.
The fact he is yet to decide where his long-term NBA future resides after this summer complicates matters, and it was this factor which prohibited Gordon from being involved with the squad last summer, but there remains a real hope that Gordon will play a part in the team’s future leading into the Olympics.
The emergence of London-born Pops Mensah-Bonsu onto the NBA stage with the Toronto Raptors is further cause for celebration, and much will be expected of the 6’10” forward who will have learnt much playing with and against the world’s greatest players in recent months.
Kelenna Azubuike is another NBA star born on these shores, although thus far he has been unable to represent Team GB due to passport complications, but should Azubuike and Gordon feature for Team GB, as well as the number of British players currently in the American college system, the talent at the disposal of Team GB Head Coach Chris Finch is greater than ever before.
These players are vitally important, not only in improving the play of Team GB, but also giving the next generation of British basketball players something to aspire to. The recent rumours circulating that Channel 5 will follow in the footsteps of Sky in cancelling their coverage of the NBA is worrying, as despite the coverage available on the internet, the absence of elite basketball from UK TV screens would be a huge blow to raising the profile of basketball in this country.
Despite this potential setback, hopes remain that their will be TV coverage of the NBA over the next three years to enable fans to see the Team GB stars facing up against the world's best players.
These high-profile British players truly have the hopes of the future of British basketball on their shoulders at a pivotal time for the future of basketball in this country, with the potential for greater growth in the sport than ever before.
Looking at the evidence so far, the future seems to be in good hands.
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