Manute Bol, born in South Sudan, became one of the most famous basketball players in NBA history — not because of scoring, but because of his extraordinary reach. At 2.31 metres tall (that is more than 7 feet 7 inches), he was one of the tallest players ever to play in the league. His story inspired a whole generation of young South Sudanese to pick up a basketball.
Thon Maker and other players with South Sudanese roots have followed, becoming professional players in the United States and Australia. Their success has made basketball wildly popular at home. Schools in Juba have basketball hoops, and children play on dirt courts at weekends, dreaming of reaching the big leagues one day.
South Sudan entered its first-ever Olympic Games in 2016, and its basketball team has been one of the country's proudest sporting stories. In 2021, the team beat Argentina — South America's basketball giants — in a historic pre-Olympic game, which sent celebrations rippling across Juba.
What makes South Sudanese basketball so exciting to watch is the combination of natural height, speed, and skill built on years of playing on dusty outdoor courts with tremendous passion. Coaches from around the world now come to South Sudan to run training camps and spot new talent.