From Spurs to Ubuntu: The Mighty African Philosophy & Mentality From Basketball

You might know me for many things, but you might know how much of a basketball buff I am (or have become). Growing up in Kumasi, Ghana, I was not so much into basketball like football, tennis - which I played a lot and followed assiduously. I was passionate about trivia too, combining several trips to the KNUST Children’s Library with tennis matches involving my brother Kofi and friends. I knew lots of trivia in football, tennis, athletics, boxing, & bball as we called it, especially my friends on KNUST campus who played it. We didn’t have many basketball nets and hoops to play in my community so I didn’t learn to play the sport. I liked Michael Jordan like many folks, as well as Penny Hardaway - 2 of the top guards of the 90s - playing for Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic respectively.

My passion for basketball extends to my cultural neighbourhood, such as blogging about African players in the NBA, emphasizing pride in continental talent like Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, etc and Ime Udoka (who is currently a top NBA coach & former Boston Celtics coach). I met the late Dikembe Mutombo once & Hakeem Olajuwon flew our flag first. On X (Twitter), I frequently comment on games, players, and trends, showing consistent, optimistic engagement true to self. Even in losses, like lamenting the Spurs' 15-game skid in 2023, I trusted in rebuilds. Now, we have my favorite player, Victor Wembanyama.

In the NBA, I primarily support teams, more than players. The San Antonio Spurs are my longstanding favorite team. I became a fan around 2002, drawn to their unassuming nature and stars like Tim Duncan, who’s still my all-time favorite player. Some of my social media posts celebrate their history, such as the 2003 Father's Day championship where we all admired the retiring Admiral - David Robinson. I also admire coach Gregg Popovich's leadership: "In Pop We Trust." I also like diversity and the many international players that the Spurs had endeared me to them. Nazr Mohammed (a Ghanaian) played for the Spurs at a point in his career. I really liked Manu Ginobli, given his football background. He’s messy like Messi in a magnificent way. Go, Spurs, go!

After spending a couple of years in New England, the Boston Celtics became my second favorite NBA team. I enthusiastically cheer "Let's go Celtics!" during #CelticsWin times, and it’s been great to experience its latest championships. It’s just sad that the Boston Three Party played after I had left Massachusetts for California and I was not in Beantown for the Ubuntu championship of 2008. Beat LA! Beat LA! While in Boston in April 2024 around the MIT Africa Innovate Conference, I partied at a night club close to the TD Garden. I was very confident "Banner 18" was coming for that season. Joe, Jayson, Jaylen, Jrue joining with the junta brought it home. “It is possible” most years too.

Basketball aligns profoundly with my communicated values, serving as a metaphor for life and work. Themes of teamwork and resilience echo our GhanaThink efforts, where we promote unity and excellence—much like the Spurs' collaborative style or Celtics' "Ubuntu" philosophy. I see some of Pop in my management style too.

Similar to how I write mostly, I have a lot of humorous takes that would serve well on First Take & several basketball related podcasts. I joked about the Pacers' "aggressiveness" in the 2023 in-season tournament, amongst many other things showing I picked an American sense of humour. Like many fans, we like to make predictions, seeding, thinking about how our teams can be improved, banter about the best players, discuss the All-Star & All-NBA teams, the player and team rivalries, etc.

Watching and studying the game helps me unwind. I watch a lot of basketball, not just my favorite teams, players or the top players. It was great to see Kwese TV broadcast a lot of NBA games circa 2016. Later on, I got DSTV, and then ESPN broadcasts games through this platform. NBA Today is 1 of my favorite shows on TV. I listened to lots of basketball podcasts from the Ringer Network, the ESPN ones, Oddball Sports, a Ghanaian podcast which counts Seyram Kartey as a key guy, also covers the NBA often. The emergence of Sporty FM has introduced Ball Up Top which I listen to a lot during late night rides home.

I am not good at basketball though my latest height check at FOCOS Hospital in Accra confirms I am 6 feet tall. I can barely shoot. I did not grow up playing the sport and I did not dedicate the requisite amount of time to it when I was an adult living in the most popular country for basketball. Thanks to how much I have learnt about basketball, watched and followed it, I can easily be a great pundit. I have already done that on Ghanaian basketball shows - Courtside, led by Yaw Sakyi. Try me.

I can even coach basketball teams. “How can someone who isn’t good at basketball coach an NBA team?” I know you have answered your doubts already, because all-time greats were not great at coaching and lots of analytical minds are starting to coach basketball. I know the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown can appreciate MIT minds coaching top teams. Mitch Johson, who took over from Pop and has the San Antonio Spurs surprising many pundits, went to Stanford just like me. A GM like Masai Ujiri? The 2019 Toronto Raptors squad was very diverse too.

My #233moments series has featured basketball too, especially at 2:33am. Ultimately, basketball for the #MightyAfrican is more than a hobby—it's a lens for excellence and unity, much like my "off-the-field Black Stars" metaphor. Sports can foster mighty achievements. Our fandom is not just for pastimes and happiness, but also to learn from our daily lives. Sports is action, much like the “Less Talk, More Action” mantra we implement. Let your game do the talking, you have to back up the trash talk.