Basketball Without Borders: Brazil

The official "I'm in Brazil" pose.

The NBA's finest Brazilians - Anderson Varejao (Cavs), Nene Hilario (Nuggets), Leandro Barbosa (Suns), and Rafael Araujo (Jazz) - played host to their fellow players at the latest Basketball Without Borders camp. Some of the attendees included Samuel Dalembert (Sixers), Kyle Korver (Sixers), Shaun Marion (Suns), James Jones (Suns), Luke Walton (Lakers), and Sam Perkins (still alive).

I love the idea of BWB, as I've previously written here and here. But then again, I'm predisposed to like anything involving travel. I just think it's good for young, rich players to see parts of the world they may not otherwise have been motivated to go see, and they also get the benefit of seeing it from a native perspective. Plus, it's totally cool for the kids. One of the kids I met in France was telling me how he was totally excited to meet Boris Diaw this year. I told him not to forget the croissants. (I was thinking of the classic Mike D'Antoni quote from SI. When told during training camp that the French forward hadn't picked up a basketball all summer, D'Antoni quipped, "That didn't mean he had to pick up every croissant in France, did it?") Poor Bobo. It must be pretty tempting since he's a spokesman for La Mie Caline, a yuuuummy boulangerie, and for Kinder Bueno chocolate. Okay, maybe he just needs to rethink his endorsements.



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