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The NBA and the International Basketball Federation, known as FIBA, will bring together 80 high school-age male basketball prospects from around the world in Istanbul as part of the 25th-anniversary celebrations of Basketball Without Borders.
The BWB Next Up Boys Camp will take place from Aug. 26 to 29 at the Ulker Youth Halls inside the Turkcell Basketball Development Center, with the Turkish Basketball Federation, or TBF, hosting the event.
Basketball Without Borders is a global basketball development and community outreach program jointly run by the NBA and FIBA. The Istanbul gathering will introduce its new Next Up format and become the third BWB event held in the city, following BWB Europe camps in 2002 and 2008.
Participants will take part in athletic testing, individual development sessions, 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 games, as well as seminars focused on life skills.
The coaching and mentoring group will include Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson, NBA legend Vlade Divac and former NBA player Danilo Gallinari. Current NBA players Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton and Jalen Suggs will also work with the young athletes, while further participants are expected to be announced before the camp.
Awards presented at the end of the program will include the Kim Bohuny Camp MVP, Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award, Three-Point Champion, Best Defensive Player and Playoff MVP honors.
The Next Up initiative will provide separate camps for 80 male and 80 female players selected from outside the United States. The women's camp is expected to take place in the fall.
Players who stand out during the two camps will be invited to future Basketball Without Borders All-Star camps held alongside the NBA and WNBA All-Star events.
NBA Europe and Middle East Managing Director George Aivazoglou said Türkiye's established basketball tradition and record of developing players had made it one of Europe's leading basketball countries. He added that bringing BWB Next Up to Istanbul reflected the sport's continued growth in the country.
FIBA Head of Players Unit Kimberley Gaucher said the new format would allow young athletes to come into contact with different basketball cultures. She also pointed to Türkiye's focus on youth development and its recent hosting of the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup.
TBF President Hidayet Turkoglu said the federation was pleased to host the event, which he said would offer participants an important sporting and cultural experience.
Since being launched in 2001, Basketball Without Borders has reached more than 4,900 young athletes from 149 countries and territories.
Among its former participants, 155 later went on to play in the NBA or WNBA. More than 50 international players listed on NBA opening-night rosters last season had also previously attended BWB camps.
The program has so far held 86 camps across six continents, covering 36 countries and 56 cities.
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