What you need to know about the inaugural Jr. NBA World Championship

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The inaugural Jr. NBA World Championship will take place from Aug. 7-12 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.

The global tournament is made up of over 30 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls teams representing 16 regions and 35 different countries.

Who is playing?

The event features 32 of the top boys and girls teams (16 U.S. and 16 international), that advanced from regional competitions earlier this year. The eight international regions that are represented are Africa & Middle East, Asia Pacific, Canada, China, Europe, India, Mexico and South America.

Canada will be represented by the Welland Warriors girls and the Brampton Breakdown boys.


Full rosters of all 32 teams can be found here.

How does the tournament work?

Round-robin pool play begins on Tuesday, with each team playing three games within their respective group (International and U.S.). Teams will be seeded one through eight in their groups based on pool play results.

Single-elimination competition begins on Friday with the first round of the International and U.S. brackets. The winners of each bracket will face off in the World Championship games on Sunday, Aug. 12.

What else will the week consist of?

All 32 teams will participate in a number of activities designed to provide each player with development opportunities and memorable experiences both on and off the court. 

Three-time NBA Champion and Jr. NBA World Championship Global Ambassador Dwyane Wade, 2018 NBA All-Star Andre Drummond, eight-time NBA All-Star Vince Carter, Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez, 2018 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Grant Hill and WNBA Legends Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash and Jennifer Azzi are among the big names that will be joining in on various events throughout the week.

From Aug. 6-8, each player will participate in three life skills sessions as part of the event's Developing the Total Athlete Series led by NBA and Kaiser Permanente health experts and supported by NBA and WNBA talent.

On Aug. 9, all 32 teams will give back to the local community by collectively building a new playground for community youth at the nearby Oak Street Park. Later in the day, the teams will get back to the court for a skills night complete with a skills challenge and 3-point contest.

For more information about the Jr. NBA World Championship, visit jrnba.com/worldchampionship

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