The 2014-15 NBA season is entering its finish line, and a number of players with close ties to the African continent are set and re-energising for the highly-competitive playoffs.
Among those bearing the African flag are Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder, Milwaukee Bucks swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo and Golden State Warriors big man Festus Ezeli.
While reserve guard Schroder has played only in two playoff games in his rookie season, averaging 2.5 points in 3.5 minutes per contest, in the next few days the Gambian-German could play a more significant role for the No 1 seed team in the Eastern Conference.
The 21-year-old developed his game so quickly that Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer has not hesitated to give Schroder an opportunity of showing his skills in 76 regular-season games, including nine starts in which he averages 9.8 points and 4.2 assists per game.
Last month, Budenholzer rested starting guard Jeff Teague against the Lakers, and the rising star came up with a career-high 24 points and 10 assists in 38 minutes for the Hawks (60-21).
Should the season finished today, the Hawks would have home-court advantage and would take on either Indiana, Brooklyn or Miami, the three teams competing for the eighth and last spot on offer for the playoffs.
The expectation now is to see how Schroder performs in the playoffs after a spectacular regular-season.
Nigerian-Greek Antetokounmpo is the man everyone is talking about these days in the NBA, not only because of impressive athleticism, but essentially because of the 20-year-old’s determinant role for the Bucks, which clinched a playoff berth a year after winning just 15 games.
Clearly, the Bucks (41-40) aren’t exactly title contenders, but their prospective round 1 series against the Toronto Raptors could be a must-watch party for Antetokounmpo, who went from averaging 6.8 points per game to a career-high 12.8 points in his second year.
In the West coast, Nigerian Ezeli is playing for the team to beat in the league, the Warriors (66-15).
Although Ezeli missed the entire last season due to a knee injury, he remains the reliable defence force that first-year coach Steve Kerr calls overtime he needs to give starting centre Andrew Bogut some resting time.
Ezeli, who could represent Nigeria at AfroBasket 2015 in Tunisia later this summer, is a natural rim protector for the league No 1 team.
The list of African flag bearers in the postseason includes, Nigerian-American Ime Udoka, an assistant coach with the reigning champions San Antonio Spurs, Senegalese-French Boris Diaw of the Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers forward Ekpe Udoh, Cameroonian-French Nicolas Batum of the Portland Trail Blazers, Congolese-Swiss Clint Capela (Houston) and Nigerian international Al-Farouq Aminu of Dallas.
The playoffs tip off on 18 April.
