African Players' Diaries – Hasheem Thabeet

Hasheem Thabeet is the first Tanzania-born player who made it to the NBA. He paired up with Luol Deng and NBA Africa at the Sprite Slam NBA Development Camp in his home town Dar es Salaam last weekend. Exclusively for NBA Africa, Hasheem shares his thoughts from the camp.

On my special time at the Sprite Slam NBA Development camp in Dar es Salaam…
It’s been great man. I can always go back and thank the guys, everybody who came down – Amadou, Masai, coach (Joby). Just having the NBA to come over and do stuff over here was great. Since I went to high school and college in the US it has always been a dream I’ve wanted to fulfill for a long time. Even when I did my first clinic after I got to the NBA I told the kids that if I’m able to get out there and open something great for myself, you can too. People are going to start coming over here and you got to keep working. Now at the end of the camp, it’s not the end of the work, keep working on your game. I tell them that not everyone is going to end up as a basketball player. For them to come over and learn something from all those great guys is great. Luol was great and I am happy I was a part of it.

The things I want to take away from this camp…
I just want to see the kids happy, that’s the most important thing for me. When I was growing up we didn’t have anything, even clothes. So just to see the camp ending today, the kids were happy, there was great energy. They worked hard today, played games the whole day in the sun – it was just great. They actually believed seeing the people who came from the lifestyles they are living right now, it’s a blessing. They now believe, you know, they did it, we can do it too.

On playing basketball with old friends…
These are the great moments I have every time I come home, to be able to go and play (with friends). I used to play with them and they were like ‘man, remember when you used to come play over here with us when we were younger?’. I actually broke good sweat and ended up working out after that, it was great man. It always brings back great memories. (I remember) when I used to walk five miles to play basketball. So it’s great and it’s very enjoyable for me to be doing what I am doing right now. I am blessed so I’ve got to come out here and play. This is a great thing and I am grateful for that.

One of the most special moments…
This kid came up to me one day before the first clinic I did. One day she came over with her mom and the mom said ‘my daughter is crying to play at the camp, she is very young, do you think she can make it?’. The girl’s name was Maria. I told her mom the camp was for everybody and to bring her back tomorrow. Today she made it to the All-Star team and it was great to see. She’s nine. You see a little progress every day and I’m just happy. She called me aside today and she was like ‘Let me have your number so I can call you when you’re in the US’ and I thought that was just great. Seeing the kids happy and seeing someone who comes from where they are from and playing at the highest level is a blessing. I cannot thank enough the guys who came out today and supported me. Even the guys who come over when I am not here, like Dwight (Howard), Tyson (Chandler) and all the NBA coaches who have come, I really appreciate the support and let’s keep doing it.

On spending time with Luol Deng…
I actually got the time to hang out with Luol, he’s a great guy. Very humble, a hard worker, he’s the man of his word. By hanging out with him for the past few days I learned a lot about him, he’s true to himself. He knows where he’s from and really inspires a lot of kids. Coming from a small city in South Sudan, he also inspires a lot of kids there. Looking at the things he and his family and the country of South Sudan have come through and seeing what he’s doing is great. He came out here, and had a lot of fun with the kids. We talked about a lot of different stuff and I’m happy for him. Hopefully we keep doing more and more together, with more guys from Africa - that would be great.

On preparing for the new season with the Oklahoma City Thunder…
Hard work man, hard work. I work hard and it (The Thunder) is a crazy organization. For the past few weeks it has been straight work. I like the way they do their things, I like how the organization supports their players and their development. I can’t wait to go there and work. It’s been a tough work for me and guys keep presenting me with opportunities. I’ve got to maximize the time that I have, know what I need to do every day, and just keep working.