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Pelicans’ Missi, Rockets’ Okogie Playing In AfroBasket

August 13th, 2025 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

While it lacks the star power of the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, FIBA’s 2025 AfroBasket event, which tipped off on Tuesday, features a pair of NBA players. Second-year Pelicans center Yves Missi is suiting up for Cameroon, while veteran Rockets wing Josh Okogie is representing Nigeria.

Both players got off to strong starts on Wednesday in their teams’ first AfroBasket games. Missi contributed 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 24 minutes to help lead Cameroon to an 86-65 win over Tunisia, while Okogie had five points, five assists, four rebounds, and a +12 on/off mark in 27 minutes of action during Nigeria’s 77-59 victory over Madagascar.

Jonathan Kuminga was listed on the preliminary roster for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but isn’t suiting up for the team as his restricted free agent standoff with the Warriors extends well into the offseason.

Still, there are several other former NBA players taking part in the tournament, as the full list of rosters shows.

Bruno Fernando (Angola), Edy Tavares (Cape Verde), Matt Costello (Côte d’Ivoire), Christian Eyenga (Democratic Republic of Congo), Mamadi Diakite (Guinea), Ibou Badji (Senegal), Karim Mané (Senegal), and Wenyen Gabriel (South Sudan) are among the names that may be familiar to NBA fans, with Tavares (14 points, 19 rebounds) and Costello (12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists) submitting big performances en route to victories in their first group play games.

A handful of notable former NBA players are also on the sidelines as coaches for the event, including Luol Deng for South Sudan, DeSagana Diop for Senegal, and Sam Vincent for Libya, observes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).

AfroBasket’s field is made up of 16 national teams divided into four groups of four teams apiece. Each squad faces the other clubs in its group once during the preliminary round; the top-ranked team in each group after those three games advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the eight second- and third-place teams square off in “play-in” games to earn quarterfinal berths.

Group play will continue through Sunday, with the play-in games for the knockout round held next Monday and Tuesday. The quarterfinals will take place on August 20 and 21, with the semifinals played on Aug. 23 and the final (and third-place game) on Aug. 24.

Phil Jackson Calls Knicks Roster ‘Clumsy’

June 16th, 2012 at 9:19am CST by Daniel Seco

9:19am: As part of the "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" interview, Jackson called the possibility of working with the Magic "one of the best opportunities in the game right now," but ultimately concluded that he wants to remain in the western part of the country, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The plan Sam Vincent was pushing for Orlando would have brought Jackson into a lead front office role, with Scottie Pippen as coach and Vincent also a part of the front-office staff. Pippen tried to get Jackson to go along with the plan, but the arrangement wasn't endorsed by Magic officials, who never met with Jackson.

FRIDAY, 8:10pm: Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson spoke candidly about the current state of the Knicks during a television interview set to air on Tuesday, reports Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News. Jackson told Andrea Kremer of "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" that he wasn't interested in coaching the Knicks and was glad that owner James Dolan never called him. While Jackson admitted coaching at the Garden is something he has definitely thought about, the former Bulls and Lakers head coach described the team's present roster as "clumsy," specifically the dynamic between the team's two best players.