To win an NBA title you have to play smart basketball, but Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji has also been thinking about a different type of intelligence.
The 22-year-old, who faces the Miami Heat in this season’s NBA Finals, has invested in science-based learning in Nigeria, a project which includes subjects such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
His aim is to help youngsters in the West African country slam dunk their career goals.
“Anything is possible if they put their mind to it,” said Nnaji, whose father is Nigerian.
“It means a lot to me. I hope the way that I carry myself and show my culture will encourage young people over there [in Nigeria] to believe they can achieve the same things.
“That’s really our goal, to establish a place where kids can choose where they want to go and what kind of career path they want to take.”
Using a family foundation, Nnaji has built an athletics centre and is now focusing on STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – learning.
“I’m really proud of our family foundation. We’re planning to build some STEM technology centres.
“We offer music engineering, we offer coding, AI, virtual reality, so a whole bunch of stuff. So they can be on the path to get into certified engineering.”
Nnaji, who was born in Minnesota in the United States, is hoping to visit the foundation himself at some point soon – and says he would be proud to wear the shirt if Nigeria came calling at international level.
“One hundred per cent, it has totally been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. To be able to represent Nigeria would be so incredibly humbling.”
The Nuggets’ chance to shine
Nnaji and his team-mates have already made history, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in the franchise’s 47-year history following a 4-0 clean sweep against the Lose Angeles Lakers in their Western Conference championship play-off.
Despite not being a regular in those games, Nnaji says he still feels very much part of the team.
“The chemistry is great. You can just tell the energy is different. Everyone gets along,” he told BBC Sport.
“We’ve always felt from the beginning of the year that we could win and every man is equally as important.
“We’ve got to have that ‘next-minute’ mentality because, if someone goes down then your number might be called upon. That’s the mindset.
“I’m staying ready, just in case I’m called upon.”
The Nuggets had to wait nine days to find out their opponents after the Miami Heat, who led their Eastern Conference championship 3-0, were taken to game seven by the Boston Celtics.
“It was really weird because we’re like, ‘we’re gonna play the Heat.’ And then all of a sudden Boston come back and win three games in a row. So like, then we’re gonna play Boston!
“But during that time, actually, we did a lot of work on ourselves, making sure our fundamentals, our basics, our philosophies, and what makes us ‘us’ were top notch, so that when we come out and play we’re ready to go, and we have our identity.”
The Heat are the first eighth seeds to reach the finals since the New York Knicks in 1999, but Nnaji is not taking the likes of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Caleb Martin lightly.
“We’ve got to come out, we’ve got to be on our A-game and we can’t play down to any level – we’ve got to be focused.
“If we come out and play aggressive, play great defence, move the ball on offence, run up and down and get fast break points, we’re going to win.”
Denver’s ‘wizard’ weapon
One man the Heat will look to stop is the Nugget’s star centre, Nikola Jokic.
Nine years ago, the Nuggets chose the Serbian with the 41st overall pick in the draft, a move which – at the time – hardly caused a stir.
Now, Jokic is a global icon and Nnaji is proud to share a court with him.
“He is literally a wizard on the court. He sees everything. He has eyes at the back of his head and his IQ is off the charts,” he remarked.
“And it’s great because he goes up against guys who are stronger, guys who are more athletic, guys who are quicker – and he absolutely tortures them.
“He has just incredible patience. No one can rush him, no one can speed him up. He’s truly incredible to watch.”
With Jokic, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, by his side, Nnaji feels a famous win is within touching distance – something he has long dreamed of.
“Since I was a little kid, you watch different players. I remember the first finals I watched: Kobe (Bryant) Lakers versus Celtics. I was thinking ‘Wow, I want to do that.’
“I know a lot of superstars who haven’t won championships and so to be in this position is incredibly humbling and I’m super grateful.”
