Changes were made before the final rosters were announced a few hours ago for this year’s NBA Africa Game set to be held in Pretoria, South Africa.
This year’s exhibition game will be played next month on August 4 and will be the third edition since the first took place in 2015 in Johannesburg.
DeMar DeRozan was set to captain Team World against Team Africa this weekend but has withdrawn from the game following his trade from Toronto Raptors.
The Shooting Guard was moved to San Antonio Spurs with Kawhi Leonard going to Toronto in one of the biggest moves of this trade season.
Apparently unhappy with Raptors President Masai Ujiri’s decision, DeRozan opted out of the game Ujiri is heavily involved.
Miami Heat Center Hassan Whiteside has been named Team World Captain which will feature players like Rudy Gay, Dennis Smith Jnr., Khris Middleton and Harrison Barnes.
Team Africa-made up of NBA players with African heritage- is led by Joel Embiid with likes of Evan Fournier featuring. Below is the full list:
Team Africa
| Player | Team | Home Country |
| Al-Farouq Aminu | Portland Trail Blazers | USA; parents from Nigeria |
| Bismack Biyombo | Charlotte Hornets | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Luol Deng | Los Angeles Lakers | South Sudan |
| Cheick Diallo | New Orleans Pelicans | Mali |
| Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers | Cameroon |
| Evan Fournier | Orlando Magic | France; parent from Algeria |
| Serge Ibaka | Toronto Raptors | Republic of the Congo |
| Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot | Oklahoma City Thunder | France; parent from Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Ian Mahinmi | Washington Wizards | France; parent from Benin |
| Pascal Siakam | Toronto Raptors | Cameroon |
Team World
| Player | Team | Home Country |
| Harrison Barnes | Dallas Mavericks | USA |
| John Collins | Atlanta Hawks | USA |
| Danilo Gallinari | Los Angeles Clippers | Italy |
| Rudy Gay | San Antonio Spurs | USA |
| JaVale McGee | Los Angeles Lakers | USA |
| Khris Middleton | Milwaukee Bucks | USA |
| Dennis Smith Jr. | Dallas Mavericks | USA |
| Hassan Whiteside | Miami Heat | USA |
| Marvin Williams | Charlotte Hornets | USA |
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
