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29 March 2024

UAE to USA: Ex-NBA star in search of first American college basketball player from Dubai

Published
By Roopesh Raj; Pics: Kamran Awan

When the US’s National Basketball Association (NBA) first set out to proselytise the new world – Asia – a 7ft 1 former Los Angeles Lakers' player went as far East as it was possible to go.

Jawann Oldham runs a training session at his academy in Dubai.

Jawann Oldham, along with Kobe Bryant’s father Joe Bryant, were among the first basketball ‘missionaries’ out to China and Japan.

The experience was to give Jawann exposure to fledgling basketball set-ups and the reality involved with the nuts and bolts of growing leagues from the grassroots up.



That was in 2006-07.

Fast forward seven years and one might imagine it would be difficult for Jawann Oldham to go unnoticed – his 7-feet frame still commanding as he strides towards our coffee table at the Town Centre in Meadows 4.



A giant hand-shake and a few sips of his iced tea later, one gets the feeling that Jawann and his Dubai basketball academy have pretty much been hidden for seven years.

“Apart from an early burst of media coverage,” the Chicago native tells us.



An NBA Los Angeles Lakers' player offering exclusive basketball training in Dubai should be a story that has to fight off interest and enquiries - given the emirate’s fascination and affinity for big brand names.

(Ok, it is basketball; not exactly a sport with great visibility in the UAE or the Middle East).

And so, Jawann’s story is an extension of his basketball mission - China, Japan and now the UAE.


And like a true missionary, he began by building his own court, literally, just near the Shangri La Hotel, off Sheikh Zayed Road, at the Canadian School.

“I got a job as the school athletic director, took a hammer and went into what was the gym hall and cleaned it out… and then built it up again from scratch,” Jawann says.

“It was pretty much 9am to 9pm in those early days,” he adds, but as the word spread, basketball lovers, students wanting to play the sport and parents wanting to give their children something focused to do found him.

“For me it has always been about quality. The idea is that the programme must be sustainable, original and solid,” Jawann says, of the reasons why he has chosen not to pursue an aggressive marketing strategy.

Jawann today runs his basketball training academy at the Meadows 4 Town Centre complex and has two batches– Juniors and Seniors – with never more than 14 in each batch at any given time.

Needless to say, for these basketball players it is a training and exposure they would not get anywhere else in the world, except if they were in the US.

Slam dunk time

And that is where the story seems to come full circle for the Jawann Oldham Basketball Academy.

In the past one year, a series of events, almost serendipitous in nature, have resulted in Dubai and the UAE being thrust into the basketball limelight as it were, and basketball as a sport ready to get a major boost across the Emirates.

It involves a top Dubai-based business leader, Kobe Bryant, the Lakers and the NBA.

Scroll down to read that complete story


Gameplan USA

Jawann Oldham’s Basketball Academy is now ready to move from being a niche pursuit for Dubai hoopsters, to a key part of a mosaic that is going to link not only the NBA to Dubai, but at the grassroots, young aspiring players across the UAE’s vast array of nationalities to college basketball in the US.

“We are currently looking for the right kind of players to set up,” says Jawann, who at this point in time, does not want to reveal too much.

“I have found that students here in Dubai have very strong academic credentials. That is very important for US colleges. We want to be upfront and tell parents the truth. It is going to be really tough,” Jawann adds.

What is implicit in Jawann’s statement is the fact that if a raw basketball talent finds his academy – s/he will be polished, toned and set-up by Jawann for a shot at US college basketball - then, we may well have the first Dubai resident playing college ball in the US soon.

Jawann then explicitly adds: “We have a quality, top-notch set-up in place in the US with coaches and facilities with the right credentials and connections are involved, leading to superior college opportunities.”

For all the initial media coverage linking Oldham to a search for the first NBA player from the UAE, the fact is, college ball is route one-to-one of the most watch leagues in the world.

On the attack


Jawann Oldham’s basketball skills are now slowly but surely in increasing demand, with other key sports facilities and organisations in Dubai and the UAE seeking him out.

Jawann is genuinely excited and understandably guarded at this point.

He quotes his old coach Pete Newell, the now-deceased legendary owner of ‘The Big Man Camp’ and former coach of University of California Berkeley. “It is all about quality.”

To have an NBA player who has played for the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers and was the last Bulls player to wear No 33, prior to Scottie Pippen, at your disposal here in Dubai, UAE, with a link-up now to possible US college basketball openings for local talent… well, that is a quality grassroots movement.

What does Jawann Oldham’s Basketball Academy give you?

PHOTO COURTESY: jawannbasketballacademy.com

At 2pm on a Friday, 8 seniors at the academy are moving in twos up and down the court in what to us seems like a fast-break drill.

The mix is curious and typically Dubai.

Indians and Pakistanis (yes, they do play basketball), Lebanese, African… and they are all met with the dead-pan growl of Jawann Oldham as he switches the drill to pick and roll, two on two.

Asfandiyar Azhar, 17, Pakistani, Jumeirah College


 

Samir Shehahi, 15, Lebanese, Dubai American Academy


 

Malcolm Anthony Martis, 17, Indian, Winchester School Jebel Ali



Click to read: Setting up Dubai's offense for NBA 3-pointer: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, game in UAE

 

For more information on the academy see: jawannbasketballacademy.com