JUBA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Luol Deng's foundation initiated the NBA Junior League and a new basketball court in South Sudan on Saturday, setting the stage for the tournament early next year.

Deng, the founder of the Luol Deng Foundation, remarked that South Sudan has excelled in basketball, and introducing the junior league to the country will significantly benefit emerging youngsters.

"Junior NBA is spreading all around the world and being as young as we are as a nation is good to see junior NBA here and committing to South Sudan. South Sudan is having a lot of success in basketball so that also brings in people like the NBA and believing in the future of South Sudan," Deng said during the launch in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

Victor Williams, NBA Executive Officer for Africa, commented that the new basketball court will serve as a great opportunity for the junior players to play the game in a well-equipped facility.

"NBA has built a basketball court in South Sudan and it is going to be a focus for a junior NBA league we will launch in South Sudan in 2024. The court will provide a great place for young people to play the game of basketball, play it safely and in a nice facility and the league will offer them the opportunity to get fantastic training in the game and to compete against other youths under the auspices of Junior NBA," Williams said.

Williams explained that they chose to develop the facility in South Sudan due to the country's successful players and the South Sudanese passion for the sport. Enditem

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