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African Blogtable: The 76th edition of the NBA on Christmas Day returns
The African Blogtable brings together some of the top basketball minds from across the
continent to answer some of the league’s most pressing questions ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season.
The NBA launched their Christmas Day campaign, “The Gift of Game”, celebrating the
timeless tradition and magic of holiday hoops which will this year see five games for the
16 th consecutive season on December 25.
Games will reach fans across the world in more than 200 countries and territories
including Africa. The 76 th edition of the NBA on Christmas Day will see Golden State
Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks, Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics
vs. L.A. Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix
Suns.
All five games will air live on ESPN, Canal + and NBA League Pass, while SABC (South
Africa), ZAP (Angola/Mozambique), NTV (Kenya), Afrosport TV, NTA, Silverbird, TVC
and ITV (Nigeria) and Clouds (Tanzania) will air a showdown between Steph Curry and
the Golden State Warriors and Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets at 21:30 CAT.
In the spirit of the Christmas Day brand campaign, The Gift of Game, what gift
has basketball granted you ?
Which Christmas Day matchups are you looking forward to ?
Alex Isaboke, Capital FM (Kenya): Basketball has gifted me a lot especially in building
up to this festive season: seeing the game I love open an NBA Africa office in my
country Kenya was a delight, meaning I will be able to see the game develop and more
talent from the country have an opportunity to be discovered especially as the interest of
the game continues to spur.
Secondly, the NBA In-Season Tournament was the best thing to happen to any
basketball lover, that meant more games to enjoy and eventually seeing LeBron cement
his ‘King’ status by adding another title!
A definite clash to watch out for is the Golden State Warriors vs Denver Nuggets. Both
teams considered as the powerhouses of the West, it will be interesting to see who will
help their team to glory. Will it be Steph Curry for the Warriors or reigning MVP Nikola
Jokic? It will be a closely contested affair, but I will go with the Nuggets for the win
because they are a young team; they will have home-court advantage and with Jokic’s
performance expected to be a game-changer coupled by sharpshooter Jamal Murray - it
will be good see them extend their recent dominance over the Warriors.
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Manyehlisa Lehohla & Sindiswa Mabunda, The Big Tip Off (South Africa):
Manyehlisa Lehohla: One of the gifts basketball has afforded me is pursuing the
dream of starting a media platform, The Big Tip Off. For the last five years, The Big Tip
Off has been one of the leading contributors of basketball content on the African
continent. We have featured NBA Academy Africa and great servants of African
basketball like Thierry Kita Matungulu and Emmanuel Mavomo. One of our most
significant achievements is covering the Basketball Africa League's (BAL) Nile
Conference in Cairo, Egypt, earlier in the year. We have also started providing up-and-
coming content producers a chance to exhibit their writing skills. And as operations
grow, we hope to pass that gift on to others.
Sindiswa Mabunda: I’m excited about the stacked Christmas Day schedule, which is
always a great way to end a day spent with family. I am particularly looking forward to
the third match-up of the night between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.
Despite the Celtics having a better record and the best defensive rating in the league, I
expect that their lack of depth from their bench will disappoint them down the stretch.
The Lakers, on the other hand, have more scoring options beyond the arc and the
ability to attack both sides of the ball. Led by Anthony Davis and James, who keeps
raising the bar in his 21st season, the Lakers have been playing phenomenal
basketball. When they’re in sync, they are almost unstoppable.
***
Tosin Abayomi, Pulse (Nigeria):
Basketball has provided a unique opportunity to dream. Growing up I took an interest in
basketball in my teenage years which has fueled my desire as a journalist to be
versatile. The excitement basketball has provided me over the years has contributed to
my passion for staying up late at night to watch the NBA and I won't have it any other
way.
The Lakers won the In-Season Tournament but have since suffered a dip in form.
Facing off against the Boston Celtics, 17-time NBA Champions, and long-term rivals,
LeBron James has an opportunity to galvanize his team to make a statement against
the title favorites on Christmas Day.
The Suns vs. Mavericks match-up provides an incredible spark of excitement with the
offensive talents on display. The rivalry between Booker and Donic makes this a
tantalizing affair to end the Christmas Day slate. The Phoenix Suns team that has not
lived up to the hype this season. The Suns have an opportunity to remind the world
why they are among the favorites in the West against a resurgent Mavs team featuring
Luka Doncic and the possible return of Kyrie Irving from injury.
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