Lithuanian Buzelis takes home MVP of BWB Global Camp

SALT LAKE CITY (United States) - Some of the best youngsters from throughout the world gathered at the NBA All-Star weekend for the 2023 Basketball Without Borders Global Camp for life and game lessons, culminating with Matas Buzelis of Lithuania winning the Most Valuable Player award.

Forty players from 27 countries participated in the camp in Salt Lake City, going through a variety of activities, including anthropometric and athletic testing, movement efficiency, skill development stations, shooting and skills competitions, life skills seminars and 5-on-5 games.

Among the non-game action highlights was an inspirational speech by two-time NBA All-Star Joakim Noah. The long-time French international urged the campers to use their phones less when with teammates and instead focus on being a better teammate and better player to achieve their goals.

"You know what I miss most about playing? The locker room. And I see kids just on their phones. You want to be a good teammate, get off your phone and stay locked in on what you got to do," said Noah, who helped France take second place at the FIBA EuroBasket 2011.

The American-born Buzelis, who has committed to playing for Lithuania internationally, helped the Boston team win the BWB 5-on-5 tournament. His teammates included Mohammad Amini, Elliot Cadeau, Sami Calderon, Felix Kossaras, Motiejunas Krivas, Killian Malwaya, Paul Mbiya, Ruben Prey and Wang Junjie. 

Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen of Finland and New Orleans Pelicans Jose Alvarado of Puerto Rico also showed up at the camp while FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis was present to hand out the Patrick Bauman Sportsmanship Award.

The BWB Global Camp only included boys campers as for the first time, the NBA, WNBA and FIBA will host a separate BWB Global camp for top high-school-age female prospects from outside the U.S. in July as part of WNBA All-Star 2023 in Las Vegas.  

Among the 38 former BWB campers on opening-night NBA rosters this season, 23 participated in the BWB Global Camp, including Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns; Bahamas; BWB Global 2016), RJ Barrett (New York Knicks; Canada; BWB Global 2017), Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder; Australia; BWB Global 2020), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder; Canada; BWB Global 2016), Rui Hachimura (Los Angeles Lakers; Japan; BWB Global 2016), Lauri Markkanen (Jazz; Finland; BWB Global 2015), Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana Pacers; Canada; BWB Global 2020) and Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets; Canada; BWB Global 2015).

Awards:
Camp MVP: Matas Buzelis (Lithuania)
3-Point Champion: Felix Kossaras (Canada)
Defensive MVP: Samis Calderon (Brazil)
Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award: Ibrahim Souare (Guinea)

BWB Global Camp All-Stars
Churchill Abass (Nigeria), Matas Buzelis (Lithuania), Elliot Cadeau (Sweden),  Pacome Dadiet (France), Thierry Darlan (Central African Republic), Miro Little (Finland), Killian Malwaya (France), Aday Mara (Spain), Tidjane Salaun (France), Modou Thiam (Senegal), Nikola Topic (Serbia), Wang Junjie (China)

FIBA