NBA & Basketball Wales launch country’s first Jr. NBA League

The NBA and Basketball Wales today announced a new partnership to create the first Jr. NBA Basketball Wales League in the presence of Wales Basketball CEO Gavin Williams, NBA Associate Vice President of Basketball Operations, Europe and Middle East, Neal Meyer and guests in Cardiff.

The school-based league for girls and boys ages 11-13 will tip off with a Jr. NBA draft event on Nov. 23 in Aberystwyth.

“Setting up a Jr. NBA League here in Wales has been on the Basketball Wales wish-list for a long time,” said Basketball Wales Jr. NBA project lead Jon Bunyan.

“It has taken a lot of hard work by a dedicated group of people to get us to this point and we are all delighted that the NBA have approved our plans for the league. Over the next few years, we will be developing the Jr. NBA initiative to include a girls’ only league with teams representing the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association), a wheelchair competition and developing links with youth sports organisations.

“Our ambition is to grow the competition so that many more schools can participate, and more young people can get the chance to play basketball.”

The Jr. NBA Basketball Wales League will be available for 32 local schools throughout Wales, spanning each of the country’s 22 local authorities. School teams will be selected at the Jr. NBA Draft to represent one of the 30 NBA teams and will receive corresponding NBA team-branded jerseys for their games.

The Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball program for boys and girls, teaches the fundamental skills as well as the core values of the game – teamwork, respect, determination and community – at the grassroots level in an effort to help grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents.

“We are pleased to partner with Basketball Wales to promote youth basketball development across the country through the launch of the Jr. NBA Basketball Wales League,” said Meyer.

“Together we will offer a program that fosters healthy competition, teaches the values of the game, and provides an opportunity for children to have fun while learning more about the sport.”

Similar to the NBA, teams will be divided into two conferences. The Northern Conference, representing the NBA’s Eastern Conference, and the Southern Conference representing the Western Conference, will each include 16 teams.

The Northern and Southern Conference games are tentatively scheduled to take place in March 2022 at venues in Bangor and Cardiff respectively, while the Jr. NBA Basketball Wales League Finals are tentatively due to take place in June 2022 in Aberystwyth.

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix