What would you do if you could bring a star down to eye level? What if you were just an arm’s length away? Would you try to recreate its shine? Or would you stare into its beauty, both incomprehensibly bright and painstakingly supernatural?

Being that close to greatness would make the average person’s eyes pop out of their head, like a scary gimmick in the windowsill of a Halloween store. However, for recent BYU freshman Kanon Catchings, he’s been holding onto stars since the time he was born.

The legacy begins in the fall of 1974 with Harvey Catchings, who made his NBA debut with the Philadelphia 76ers. In the middle of what would be an 11-year career in the L, Catchings became the basketball equivalent of Serena and Venus Williams’ father, Richard Williams Jr. Harvey’s daughters, Tamika and Tauja set the stage for a family-wide takeover on the hardwood.

If you were wondering what it would be like to touch a star, you’d have to either ask someone on the 2002-2016 Indiana Fever, or her own nephew to truly understand how bright of a star Tamika Catchings is.

“I looked up to her a lot,” Kanon reminisces. “She was one of the first basketball players I really knew.”

Tamika Catchings, despite an under-the-radar hearing disability, kick started her legacy winning three high school state championships in two different states (Illinois and Texas). Stepping into her college career, she made her presence known on the court, helping the Tennessee Lady Vols to an undefeated season and NCAA championship in 1998 under legendary coach Pat Summitt, paving the way for recent college stars like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.

Spending her entire career with the Fever, Catchings led the team to a championship in 2012 and racked up a long, decorated list of accomplishments, including WNBA MVP (2011), 10 All-Star selections and five Defensive Player of the Year awards. Not to mention, four consecutive Olympic Gold medals (2004-2016) and holding the all-time WNBA record for steals (1,074).

A unique star, Catchings transcended familial expectations, and set the precedent for what greatness moved like. “I wanted to be just like her,” Kanon explains. 

The next closest star in Kanon’s orbit was Tamika’s sister and Kanon’s mother, Tauja, who led her high school team to two state championships (’95-96), and was named Illinois’ Ms. Basketball in 1996. At the University of Illinois, Tauja became the first player in Illini history with more than 1,400 points, 700 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals, earning her All-Big Ten honors and the status of one of the best players in Illinois history.  

Almost a decade later, another branch of the Catchings family tree has emerged with Kanon. Standing at 6-9 and known for his athleticism, the youngest Catchings has stepped into new beginnings at Brigham Young University (BYU) where he’s quickly made a name for himself.

“An aspect I’d like to show a lot of people is that I can guard every position on the court,” he explains. Being able to be anywhere on the court is where Kanon feels like he has a leg up on other recruits.

Dating back to his junior season in high school, Kanon averaged 17.5 points and 4.8 rebounds before joining Overtime Elite (OTE). There, he maintained his collegiate eligibility, playing at a high level and averaging 14.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Kanon’s decision to suit up for the Cougars had a lot to do with a lot to do with his former OTE coach Tim Fanning.

“That was a big drawing point for me when I came to BYU,” he explains. “It means a lot to have somebody that knows you and has coached you before on the staff.”

At BYU, Catchings hopes to refine his shooting and physicality, notably looking forward to improving on his skill set in a way that transcends the expectation that comes with his family name. His defensive instinct—a hallmark of the Catchings family—is something that he wants to showcase, and with his Hall of Fame aunt as a mentor, he’s looking forward to growing all parts of his game.

“I feel like I’ve improved a lot,” he says. “In ballhandling, passing the ball, [and] defense especially, but also, just ripping out shots—[I’m] just trying to be as consistent as I can in everything that I do on the court.”

In the wake of what could potentially be a breakout freshman season, the four-star recruit has every bit of pressure on his shoulders come November. But, with that transcendent familial stardom looming in the background, Catchings has all the guidance and tools he needs to add to the legacy—perhaps not only reaching for the stars, but becoming one himself. 

Portraits via BYU Athletics.

The post Family Ties: The Beginning of Kanon Catchings’ Journey and The Continuation of the Catchings Legacy  appeared first on SLAM.

Giants of Africa (GOA), an organization dedicated to inspiring youth through outreach programs, has encouraged young boys and girls with the value of dreaming big. Since 2003, GOA co-founder and Vice-Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors, Masai Ujiri, has brought together a diverse group of working professionals from the African diaspora to build over 30 basketball courts and help lead camps in over 16 countries. 

“We must look within and recognize that each and every one of us can start small, with a single idea or opportunity,” Ujiri said at a GOA’s AfriCAN event in Toronto. “When we come together and support one another, we can make a real impact.” 

Hosting the first ever Giants of Africa Alumni Reunion, which took place in Las Vegas last month during the 2024 NBA Summer League, GOA was able to bring together former campers and clinic participants to not only set the stage for future initiatives but also to communicate to a younger generation the power and opportunity behind playing basketball. 

“Our dream was just to make sure that kids coming after us didn’t go through what we went through as international students. We wanted to provide an avenue where the transition will be smoother than what we went through,” said GOA co-founder and former Georgetown Hoyas basketball player Godwin Owinje. 

Owinje, a current NBA and international scout for the Brooklyn Nets, is living proof that having the heart to follow your passions can lead to a higher calling. Coming from a small neighborhood in the Delta State of Nigeria, where most kids don’t normally go to college or even finish high school, and where soccer runs rampantly along the streets, the 6-8 Owinje had to learn what basketball was. 

“The reason I [tell] [my] story is because if someone like me can make it out of the neighborhood that I came out of, anybody can do it,” said Owinje. 

Although Owinje has an undying love for his college team and shouts “Hoyas for Life!” his heart truly lies with the kids whose smiles radiate ever so brightly in the midst of doing what they love. 

“We hammer home, whenever we’re talking to these kids, that if you dream, own that dream and do everything you can, do everything possible to achieve that goal you set for yourself of what you want to become,” he said. 

Ndeye Fatou Beye, a GOA alum (2018) and current basketball scout in Senegal, is one of the many people Owinje and Ujiri have reached with the program. 

“[The program] is opening your eyes to not only say like, ‘I’m a young girl, I’m a Black woman, I’m African, I can’t achieve any goals.’ It made me open my eyes, to be able to say, you know what, I can be whoever I wanna be if I believe in myself. And Masai was always there to tell us it’s not because you’re from Africa; you can be who you wanna be in the future, and that’s really impacted my life. And yeah, ’til that day, I have the same mentality to always believe in myself no matter what and no matter where I am right now,” she says. 

Using basketball as a stepping stone to achieve her goals, Beye utilized the confidence she learned at the camp and the lesson of “how to be in a society dominated by men and in the sport industry” to help foster BAL4HER, a program dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s leadership while encouraging young women and girls to invest in themselves. 

And as an alum, Beye is excited to make a similar impact. “And I think right now I want to be more impactful in the life of young women right now because that will make the difference,” she says. 

Standing firm as the epitome of what it means to “dream big,” Tolulope Omogbehin, known widely as “Omos,” credits his rise in the WWE world not only to his impressive 7-3 stature but also to the lessons he learned as a young adult in the GOA camps. 

“I remember the first time we went to the camp, Masai said use basketball as a tool to get to where you want to get to in life,” Omos recalls. “And as a young person, I never truly understood what that meant.” 

“It wasn’t until being in the WWE for the past five years and doing that, and all the training from basketball, the perseverance, the teamwork—all those things have helped me become professional in what I’m doing today,” he says. 

With a height one would call “ NBA perfect,” it’s expected of someone like Omos to simply take basketball and run with it. However, for him, using basketball as a tool to take the nontraditional route opened up a sea of possibilities that set him apart from the rest. 

And his success is a testament to that. 

“‘Dream big’ is like not having a cap on the possibilities of your life, right? I think for me, I’ve always had an imaginative mind, and I think GOA kind of helped and expanded that and like, while you might think this might be the end for you, you can dream before that, because you never know where you’re gonna land,” Omos adds. “It can always be a dream, you can always dream.” 

As GOA continues to expand to more countries, build more courts and push more initiatives to foster growth in the African diaspora, GOA alumni like Omos and Beye continue to inspire, expanding the minds of the next generation of basketball players. 

“Like I told them in the alumni reunion the other day, it doesn’t matter how big or small you affect another kid, another person’s life or another youth in Africa’s life, it means the whole world to that person, just like it meant the whole world when we did it to you,” Owinje says. 

Not only are the alumni affecting the very lives of the youth, they’re also living, breathing, testaments to the importance of never letting go of a dream, no matter where you’re from, and no matter how out of reach it may seem.

Portraits via Giants of Africa.

The post Giants of Africa Alumni Are a Testament to the Impact of International Hoops and What It Means to Dream Big appeared first on SLAM.

In its fifth year, the Red Bull Half Court, with 8,000 men’s and women’s players from 21 different countries, are bringing the World Finals to Brooklyn Bridge Park where qualifying teams from countries around the world including Australia, Belgium, Egypt, India, Japan, Serbia, the Philippines, Italy and the UAE, will play for the right to be crowned world champions.

For the USA, the path to the finals begins with the men’s and women’s qualifiers on August 17 in Atlanta and New York City at Happy Warrior Playground. We’ve assembled our own squad for the occasion with a stacked women’s roster set on moving to the US finals on October 18. The winner of the New York City qualifiers will face the winners from Atlanta, with the USA champs moving on to the World Finals on Oct. 19-20 where a surprise awaits.

In collaboration with Project Backboard, Red Bull will unveil a new court at Brooklyn Bridge Park, courtesy of their court design contest. From now until September 1, local designers, street art lovers and basketball fans have the opportunity to design the basketball court of their dreams for a chance to have it brought to life at the Red Bull Half Court World Finals in October. The winning court will be chosen by a jury of NYC and basketball tastemakers, including Alex Taylor of Hoop York City, Brian Kortovich of Smokin’ Aces, Project Backboard, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Project Backboard and your very own here at SLAM.

At last year’s Red Bull Half Court World Finals held in Belgrade, Serbia, the hometown heroes Team Serbia beat Team Poland in a nail-biting overtime thriller. On the women’s side, Team Egypt took home their first-ever women’s title after beating the defending champs, Team Japan.

This year, the competition is introducing a new flair to the sporting rules. A three-point shot, marked by two circles with a three-foot diameter drawn 6.5 feet behind the arc, will add a new level of intensity within the tournament.

“The art of shooting continues to be the most critical skill set for a player at every level of competition,” says shooting coach Chris Matthews, aka Lethal Shooter, who coaches numerous NBA players. “With the new three-pointer coming into Red Bull Half Court, every team from every country will have to hone this shot to secure a bid to the World Finals at Brooklyn Bridge Park.” As Team SLAM gears up to take care of business this weekend, all eyes are on the City of Dreams.

Photos via Red Bull.

The post Red Bull Brings the Half Court World Finals to New York City to Crown a New 3on3 Champion This October appeared first on SLAM.

But other times, it looks like just straight-up passion, the kind that says “kill or be killed.” Those who live in America are no stranger to the in-your-face sort of culture that surrounds basketball. But for players from abroad, like new Detroit Pistons rookie Bobi Klintman, it’s a completely different world. But it’s also one he’s adapting to.

“I would say out here in America, it’s like a religion,” Klintman says. “You grow up playing basketball, basically. You know somebody that played basketball, you probably have somebody in your family that played basketball.”

And it’s true. For many basketball players, it was practically instilled at birth—with many still hanging on to the early memories of one-handed dunks on a Little Tikes hoop. But for Klintman, that early exposure was hardly an option.

Growing up in Malmö, a coastal city in southern Sweden, Bobi became accustomed to the culture of football—or soccer, as we like to call it—before he ever tapped into the basketball scene.

“You heard about people playing soccer in school,” he says. “That’s like the number one sport. So, basketball, you don’t really see it a lot.”

It wasn’t until Klintman hit his early teens that he was able to really start molding himself as a basketball player. But even then, it didn’t compare to the level of intensity that was going on in the States.

“You got high school, AAU, that whole system—which is all different from Sweden. Sweden is more, like, you do it for fun,” he says.

Where many high school players would have an entire space or facility dedicated to helping them get better at their craft, Klintman had to share gym time with other sports.

“It’s very hard to get into the gym, there’s always something going on. It might be handball, field hockey, anything going on in the gym. So, you never knew when it would be available to go into the gym. When you got your practice time, you really got to maximize it,” Klintman explains.

Attending Sweden’s RIG Mark Academy, Klintman quickly rose through league ranks playing 13 games in 2019 for the academy’s third-tier league, Basketettan. Not even a year later, he made his way into the second-tier league, Superettan, before his season was cut short by Covid in February 2020.

“[RIG] is where we would have school and basketball at the same time. And that’s what I did when I turned 15. It’s kinda like club basketball, that’s the main thing, and if you’re good enough, you play pro in Sweden.”

And play pro he did. 

In 2021, Klintman rose to the first-tier league, Basketligan, where he played six games for the professional basketball club Borås Basket to finish out the season.

Despite going up against some of the top high school players in the country, he still managed to spark the attention of scouts overseas. The Swedish star received seven offers from top colleges, including Kansas and Virginia, before even stepping foot on US soil.

That following year, Klintman made the important decision to leave Sweden and travel to Kansas to play for Sunrise Christian Academy–a school known for developing some of the most decorated players during their early years, including Buddy Hield, Blake Hinson, and Gradey Dick (to name a few).

Assimilating into America’s passionate culture of basketball when you’re coming from a different country with an entirely different perspective on basketball isn’t easy. But Klintman didn’t focus too hard on the cultural differences. He simply took the opportunity at Sunrise Christian and ran with it.

Bobi quickly adapted to the American style of play, leading the team to a 25-2 overall record and the best season in school history. The team also won the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference, going 9-2 against nationally ranked opponents and peaking as the top-ranked team in the nation in February 2022.

Looking back on that time in his life, Klintman credits a lot of his growth as a player to his days at SCA.

“It was like, if you want to play a different position, you’ve got to be able to guard that position. “It was all me for that [ever] since I got out there,” Klintman said. “I couldn’t really move my feet at all when I first got to the US, but that was something I had to work on a lot, and still workin’ on ’til this day.”

Receiving support from loved ones and newly learned skills and guidance from former SCA coach Luke Barnwell, Klintman grew into a four-star recruit and took yet another huge leap of faith, committing to Maryland. But then he started second-guessing which college team was the right fit; he de-committed from Maryland and then Colorado before finally landing at Wake Forest.

“It’s different man. You have guys on your team that’s like 24 years old that’s been in college for, like, four years, so they know the system,” he says. “It’s just a lot to get used to. You gotta find a routine, something that works for you. When you step on the court, everything just closes.”

Bobi quickly became familiar with the team’s work ethic and appeared in all 33 games of his first season, even starting for a few games at the end of the year.

“You gotta really be a hard worker, you know?” he says. “That was probably when I really realized, we really got to put in, like, 100 percent, because to get on the court is very competitive.”

Much like his run at SCA, Klintman racked up crazy numbers, being both the first Wake Forest freshman to record multiple double-doubles since 2018 and the first Wake Forest freshman to record a double-double in an ACC Tournament game since school legend Tim Duncan.

Bobi kept his run at Wake Forest surprisingly short, initially declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft and then ultimately leaving the team.

Later that same year, he embarked on another challenge in yet a different country, signing with the Cairns Taipans as part of the Australian National Basketball League’s (NBL) Next Stars program.

Described by Taipans head coach Adam Forde as a modern NBA “prototype,” Klintman set his career high in points (24), rebounds (12), and assists (3) in three separate games during the season. Despite spending only one season with the team, Bobi says his time in Australia was one of profound growth.

“Every day you gotta give it your all, because everything leads up to [the team] winning the game,” he explains. “If I take my team [for] example, we lost the playoffs by one game, and that just shows how important it really is to win every game. It’s a small margin of error, so you gotta be the best version of yourself.”

Believing in his abilities is what has guided Klintman through the journey of success. His ability to mold himself, to adapt to such drastic changes in his career is what he believes will spark the fire he needs to conquer his next journey: the NBA.

Bobi has always had his heart set on NBA dreams. But to hear his name being called in June felt completely unreal.

“[I think] back to that, when [my brother and I] were sitting on the couch talking,” he recalled. “We [were] like, ‘That’s gon’ be us one day.’ I can’t even explain it, I’m still speechless about it.”

Klintman and his family were close to tears after the Swedish star was selected to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves–and traded the same day to the Detroit Pistons–essentially turning faraway dreams into a reality.

Despite not being selected in the first round—which would have made him the first Swedish player ever to be drafted that high—Klintman is eager to show his American counterparts the merits behind his roots.

“I feel like a lot of people who play basketball in Europe are pretty tough mentality-wise, because you gotta do a lot by yourself,” he says. “I feel like we have a different type of mentality. So I’ve been [trying to] keep that my whole life. I wouldn’t say I have a chip on [my] shoulder, but [something] like the same thing.”

Klintman holds his family and his roots close to his heart as a reminder. Oftentimes, he misses being able to call his friends to play basketball or being able to eat his mom’s signature lasagna after a long day.

“That’s what I do it for. So not having [my family and friends] around has been hard,” he says. “But at the same time, we all growin’ up, we all got our goals, and we always support each other.”

As much as Klintman holds onto memories from growing up in Sweden, he recognizes that there’s another goal to be had in this new environment: “I want to win a championship.”

Photos via Getty Images. Portraits by Eli Selva. Edits by Alexander Zheng.

The post Swedish Sensation and Detroit Pistons Rookie Bobi Klintman is Ready to Bring His European Mentality to the NBA appeared first on SLAM.