MEXICO CITY – The National Basketball Association (NBA), CONADE (Mexico’s National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport) and the Mexican Basketball Federation (Asociacion Deportiva Mexicana de Baloncesto, A.C) today announced their plan to launch The NBA Academy Latin America, an elite basketball training center in Mexico City for the top male and female prospects from throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America.  The NBA Academy Latin America, the NBA’s seventh elite training center globally, is scheduled to open this winter.

The announcement was made today at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who was joined by CONADE Principal Director Alfredo Castillo Cervantes and Mexican Basketball Federation President Gilberto Hernández, prior to the Brooklyn Nets taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the NBA Mexico City Games 2017 presented by Nike.

The NBA, CONADE and the Mexican Basketball Federation will conduct scouting programs across the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America to identify the inaugural pool of elite prospects ages 14-17 who will receive scholarships and training at The NBA Academy Latin America.

“CONADE’s commitment is to boost athlete development to its maximum potential and enhance their talent and education by providing them with high-performance training, innovative methodology and the latest sports technology and science,” said Castillo Cervantes.

“For the Mexican Basketball Federation, it is essential to develop elite basketball players, strengthen the development of basketball in Mexico and establish strategic alliances that will allow these young players to compete at an elite level,” added Hernández.

“Basketball continues to flourish across Latin America and this new NBA Academy in Mexico City will be the one place where elite youth can train and compete together,” said Silver.  “We look forward to developing top Latin American players in a structured and meaningful way in partnership with CONADE and the Mexican Basketball Federation.”

The NBA Academy Latin America will employ a holistic, 360-degree approach to player development with focuses on education, leadership, character development and life skills.  As part of the program, the students will compete against top competition throughout the year and will have an opportunity to be selected for travel teams that play in international tournaments and exhibition games.

The launch of The NBA Academy Latin America follows the launch of academies in Canberra, Australia; Jinan, Urumqi and Zhuji, China; Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), India; and Thies, Senegal.  NBA Academies include educational development for top male and female prospects from outside the U.S. and mark the NBA’s signature elite player development initiative.  The initiative exposes elite prospects to NBA-level coaching, facilities and competition and provides a global framework for them to maximize their success.

The NBA Academy Latin America builds on the NBA’s basketball development initiatives in Mexico, including the Jr. NBA, Basketball without Borders, NBA 3X, and the Americas Team Camp.  The NBA Mexico City Games 2017, which feature the Nets playing regular-season games against the Thunder on Thursday, Dec. 7, and the Miami Heat on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico, culminate the 25^th anniversary celebration of the first NBA game in Mexico and mark the 25^th and 26^th games in Mexico since 1992, the most NBA games held in any country outside the United States and Canada.

Fans can find more information about The NBA Academy Latin America at nbaacademy.nba.com and on Instagram (nbaacademy), and about the NBA at NBA.com, Facebook.com/NBA_Mexico, and on Twitter (@NBAMEX).

About CONADE

academiaconade.cinvade.gob.mx

Twitter: @CONADE

Facebook: Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte

About the Mexican Basketball Federation

Twitter @Mexbasquet

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association and the NBA G League.  The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 50 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2017-18 season featured 108 international players from a record 42 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 1.4 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.