Kids in Africa start kicking a ball when they are six or seven years old, if not younger. It's like baseball, basketball and football in America. If you're talented, people will find you. That's what happened with soccer. The number of academies has grown rapidly, and people are really into it.
Most kids in Africa don't start playing basketball until they are 13 or 14 years old. This puts them at a disadvantage because they lack the instincts and must work harder to develop the skills and habits formed at an early age.
As you can probably tell, the push to develop talent in Africa is personal. I grew up there. I played there. I know how much talent there is. We have to concentrate on building facilities, establishing successful leagues and finding investors to help young players.
Most young kids can't figure out how to shoot.
People hear 'Africa' and they think about charitable commercials, or safari tours and animals. It's our responsibility to help change that perspective.
This is my hobby. Reaching out, getting to know other people's cultures, traveling to other people's countries.
Just because someone lives in a hut, that doesn't mean that isn't a good person, that that person can't do better, that person isn't capable of being great. And just because it's a hut - whatever that means - doesn't mean it's not a home.
The truth is that Africa is like everywhere else. There are poor areas, there are rich areas, there is a middle class. Some of those areas are bigger in one country than another, and some countries have real problems that they're working through. But there's great people, good people and a small percentage of bad people - just like everywhere else.
As leaders, I think we have to give people in many places a chance to have success, not continue to put those people down.
I've spent a lot of time in the United States and Canada and I am grateful for the opportunities that I've been given by people, and the game of basketball, and the NBA.
We have to inspire people and give them a sense of hope. We need to bring people along, not ridicule and tear them down.
For me, it's always been about Toronto. I love it here. My family loves it here. My wife loves it here, which is important.
Our job is to find players younger, where they are able to play from 11 years old and grow up playing the game. Rather than, you start playing when you are 17 or 18 and you don't get the opportunity to do anything with your career.
The natural thing in Africa is to start playing soccer at 8 or 9. You go outside and you play like kids play basketball here, and you grow a feel for the game. In Africa, the kids start playing basketball at 16 or 17 or 18, and when they get an opportunity to come here, they have been playing for only one or two years.
I memorized every line in Michael Jordan's 'Come Fly with Me.'
I was probably the best cherry picker in the history of African basketball. I got so many dunks, it was crazy.
You need some luck in life and I have been lucky with God's help.
I wasn't a great player, but I got a lot out of the game. I saw the world and made many lifelong friends.
Be very proud of your name and where you come from. It's so important. Say it loud and clear for everybody to hear.
I always say in my camps in Africa, in everything we do, 'My name is Masai and I'm from Nigeria.' My name is Masai and I'm from Nigeria. It's plain and simple. If you're from La Loche or you are from Toronto you should be proud of it.
