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Wes Unseld Jr. enjoying ‘unreal’ experience coaching in Africa

By Chase Hughes

Wes Unseld Jr. on coaching in Africa for BWB originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Wes Unseld Jr. is a big history buff, specifically ancient history, and sometimes to the chagrin of his wife. That’s because when they go on vacation, he often plans tours of landmarks and museums when she would rather do other things.

His love for history is among the many reasons why Unseld Jr., head coach of the Wizards, decided to participate in the 2022 Basketball Without Borders camp in Cairo, Egypt. Unseld Jr. is currently there along with other NBA coaches, NBA players and Naismith Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo to help continue the game’s global expansion.

Unseld Jr. in many ways is serving as an ambassador for the sport.

“That sounds heavy when you say it like that. Honestly, for us it’s an opportunity to give back. It’s unique in this fashion because you’re doing it in another country,” Unseld Jr. told NBC Sports Washington in a conversation from Cairo. “Oftentimes, you’re dealing with young people who don’t speak the same language. The commonality is the language of basketball, the language of sport.”

Unseld Jr. is coaching boys and girls from all over the continent through drills, scrimmages and games. Other coaches there include Steve Kerr of the Warriors and Chauncey Billups of the Blazers. NBA players helping out include Malcolm Brogdon and Grant Williams of the Celtics, Mo Bamba of the Magic and Udoka Azubuike of the Jazz. Raptors president Masai Ujiri is among the camp’s directors.

The kids participating are all 18 years or younger. Collectively, they have traveled from 26 different African countries.

The campers are split into stations each morning at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex. They are coached on a variety of skills including ball-handling, defense, offensive spacing and shooting. There are also life skill guidance, which Unseld Jr. believes is especially valuable.

“The kids are so excited. Just to see their reaction to the opportunity, not just to be in a facility to play and to learn, but also the opportunity just to kind of rub shoulders not necessarily with me, but NBA players and personalities that they watch on TV. To see Steve Kerr, to be up in close and have him instruct you in a session or even coach you in a game [is great],” Unseld Jr. said.

The Basketball Without Borders camp, now in its 18th year operating in Africa, began on Saturday and runs through Wednesday. On the first day they took a trip to see the pyramids. 

That was a treat for Unseld Jr.

“It was unreal. It’s kind of one of those bucket list items, that you’ve seen it a thousand times and have read about. I fancy myself a history nerd a little bit, so I was really excited for the opportunity to see it firsthand,” he said.

“Just the scale is incomprehensible. You think of just sheer raw manpower putting that together, the precision, the amount of labor and how intensive it had to be. The amazing part about it is they still don’t know how they did it. But to see it in its full grandeur, up close and personal, was really amazing.”

Unseld Jr. has followed in his father’s footsteps in coaching the Wizards and the same applies to this trip. Back in the mid-90s, Wes Unseld Sr. was part of an NBA contingent that visited South Africa, where he had dinner with Nelson Mandela. Mutombo was also on that trip.

Roughly 30 years later, Unseld Jr. was extended an invitation by Kim Bohuny, the NBA’s senior vice president of international basketball operations. Bohuny knew his father well and now Unseld Jr. is walking the same path.

He believes Africa has a chance to someday produce NBA talent as Europe does currently, with each of the last four MVP awards having gone to European players.

“We all know how that brings people together from around the world, regardless of demographic, race, religion, creed, what have you. The sport unites and to see that happen live, it’s a beautiful thing,” Unseld Jr. said.

Daniel Gafford on what it takes to prevent a poster dunk

By Chase Hughes
Gafford on what it takes to prevent a poster dunk originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonWASHINGTON -- Daniel Gafford was in an undesirable position. A miscommunication by the Wizards' defense left him for a moment as the one with eyes on both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. With Lopez in the corner, Antetokounmpo charged towards the rim, bowling over Gafford as he stepped in his way.Gafford hurt his right elbow on the fall as the referees called him for a shooting foul. It was an insult to injury as Antetokounmpo made the basket and the subsequent free throw en route to a career-high 55 points. Just over a minute later, Gafford found himself once again in Antetokounmpo's path. The two-time MVP rolled off a screen to shed Kyle Kuzma and picked up speed as he entered the lane. This time he tried to dunk and, although Gafford successfull thwarted the attempt, the collision sent him flying past the stanchion under the hoop.Gafford was once again wincing in pain, favoring the elbow. Less than a minute later, he exited for the locker room to get examined by the medical staff. Such is life for an NBA big man, sometimes you have to put your body in harm's way. But Gafford has shown a particular resilience, never stepping away from a challenge with what is known in the NBA as a 'business decision.'"People make business decisions all the time. My business decision is playing defense," Gafford said.Though his elbow was barking that night, Gafford wasn't even on the injury report for the next game. And in that next game, he once again stopped a high-flyer at the rim.Thunder rookie Jalen Williams took off from the corner down the baseline, as Gafford jumped from under the hoop to meet him in the sky. The refs called a foul, but after a challenge from head coach Wes Unseld Jr., it was overturned as a block. Gafford has helped the Wizards allow the sixth-fewest points in the restricted area this season, a bright spot for their defense which has been rather streaky overall. He (-12.2%) and Kristaps Porzingis (-12.6%) each hold opposing players to about 12% lower than their season shooting percentage within six feet of the rim, per Second Spectrum.Porzingis deserves a lot of credit for the Wizards' success in that regard, but Gafford seems to get the worst of the pileups under the rim. Gafford is sometimes deployed to the tougher, more physical defensive assignments in order to save Porzingis' injury for the offensive end.As the Antetokounmpo experienced showed, he is also sometimes put in compromising positions in help defense."It shows a little toughness, mentally and physically, that you can play through some things, accepting that challenge," Unseld Jr. said. "It’s easy when you’ve got a guy like that and the way he plays, to kind of bail out at times. Whether the guy scores or not, he’s going to have to earn it. I think it’s a mindset that’s good for all of us to have."Antetokounmpo is one of many examples of Gafford facing off with the NBA's best rim-finishers. Earlier this season, he had a series of contests against Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who has a reputation for poster dunks, like his infamous one against Yuta Watanabe. Gafford is second on the team this season to Porzingis with 47 blocks in 40 games. He's averaging 1.2 blocks per contest and 2.5 blocks per-36 minutes.But as Gafford noted, he's not always the victor against his airbone adversaries. Every once in a while someone will get the best of him with a dunk, or in the case of Antetokounmpo an and-1 layup.Gafford said he will "get a good laugh" out of those plays, which sometimes go viral on social media. You win some and you lose some.That perspective is part of what it takes to make such a sacrifice for your team. Sometimes your body is bruised and sometimes it's your ego."It’s really just a mindset. No matter if they dunk it or not, it’s going up and trying to get some hand on the ball. That’s the main thing. I’m just trying to go up, whether I jump through you or I meet you at the rim. It’s really just timing and, I don’t know, not being scared," he said.
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