Masai’s Giants

Beyond the growing number of Africans who will make a career in basketball in the coming years because of the Giants of Africa camps, Ujiri’s contribution will potentially be measured on a larger scale as he holds sway with several African leaders and has encouraged them to invest in sports infrastructure on a national level by building arenas and facilities.

In 2016, Ujiri invited Rwandan President Paul Kagame to attend the NBA All-Star Game, which Toronto hosted.

Some were critical of the decision to invite the leader to Canada, because though many countries maintain strong relationships with Rwanda, concerns have also been raised about alleged human rights abuses by the government there.

Nevertheless, following his All-Star Game visit, Kagame built BK Arena, a 10,000 seat indoor multi-purpose stadium, in 2019.

In 2021, Ujiri committed, through Giants of Africa, to building 100 basketball courts across the continent. To date, the group has built 29 courts in nine countries in partnership with Sport Court International, numerous private donors and corporate sponsors including MasterCard and IAMGOLD.