The NBA launched seven basketball academies worldwide in 2016 in an effort to globalize the game. On Friday, 25 student-athletes scrimmaged at Mandalay Bay Convention Center before the G League Winter Showcase. Among the top players was Timothy Ighoefe, a 6-foot-11 center signed to play college basketball at Georgetown. UNLV freshman forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua graduated from an NBA Academy.