NBA champion Ian Mahinmi is keeping busy post-retirement, serving as an ambassador and investor for the Basketball Africa League (BAL) alongside Luol Deng (South Sudan), Grant Hill, Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Joakim Noah (ties to Cameroon).
Mahinmi, who has roots in the West African country of Benin, is very involved in the NBA and BAL’s efforts in Africa, traveling the continent to participate in youth-development and community events, meet with fans and mentor aspiring players at all levels.
The Sporting News’ Anthony Pasciolla caught up with Mahinmi to discuss the BAL, his playoff battles against LeBron James, his relationship with Victor Wembanyama and more.
Since the creation of the BAL, it is into its fourth season. It must be super exciting to see the growth over the years, but what do you think the future holds for the league?
Mahinmi: “To answer this question, you have to backtrack a little and understand first when the NBA opened the offices in Johannesburg. The emphasis of the first practice and job was to grow the grassroots right, and we did it with a variety of grassroots programs and NBA programs, like junior NBA leagues. So then we realized how talented and how resourceful the continent is when it comes to talents and we grew through an academy, so now we have the NBA Academy that’s doing really well in Senegal and obviously now you’ve got guys like Khaman Maluach who's the next big thing for Duke. It’s coming [along]. The BAL was growing from this and now having an understanding of what we have on the African soil, we needed a professional platform where we can not only retain the talent but we can grow the game professionally.
"So in four seasons, we started very small, and we’ve grown into four different markets now. The intention, if you follow this trend, is to really professionalize the game at all levels, and it’s not only the players but it's everything around the players too. We want to expand on the continent, but we want to do it in an organic way. It’s understanding now that we grew from three markets to four markets, now how many teams can we add to this league? How many more markets can we add? Is there a time when we've grown enough and we have the infrastructure to have home and away games? From there, is there a point where we grow into something that looks like the EuroLeague or NBA? You know, we want to expand, but we want it to happen organically, and above all, we want to make sure that we have the infrastructure within the organizations within this country to really hold these standards.”
On the surface, you’re an investor and an ambassador, but I’m sure the BAL means so much more to you than that. What has it been like for you to be a part of this?
Mahinmi: “This has been the easiest decision of my life because this is already something I was doing naturally on my own. Obviously, I had to make a big decision when the opportunity came to be an NBA Africa investor. I had to make up my mind because I was still playing at that time. It was either continuing my career in the NBA or retiring and becoming an NBA Africa investor. I made the choice [to invest] because it’s bigger than myself, it’s the selfless thing where growing the game on the continent. I was already doing this on a small scale back home in Benin. I was doing my little camps with my foundation, trying to grow the game back home. Now, with the NBA Africa platform, I get to do it at the mass scale. I get to do what I love to do on a bigger scale with people that think like me. We share the same vision and are giving ourselves the means to do it. The decision was so easy, Anthony. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s not like I was like, 'Oh my gosh, am I really going to retire?' It was tough, but it was very easy, if that makes sense. It made a lot of sense when I looked at the big picture of what I wanted to accomplish with myself as a man.”
If you had to tell fans one thing they should most be looking forward to in the BAL, what is it?
Mahinmi: “Obviously, we added a fourth market this season. We added our Kalahari conference, which was amazing because the NBA office is in South Africa. We have such a strong presence there, so it was very welcoming. Now it’s in the past, but for me, this was the most exciting thing about season four, and it went so well. The stadium was packed, and the youth of South Africa really came through. It was exciting, great plays, but overall, from one season to another, what people should also be excited about is the level of play; the on-court product is getting better and better and better, and that’s, for me, the key thing.
"We are also able to see the local talent. I think people are looking forward to that, and we’re starting to have our young local product blooming. Last game, the City Oilers played Bungai, so the Uganda team vs. the Central Africa team, we have Khaman playing for the Oilers and we have Thierry Darlan, who’s with the [G-League] Ignite, playing for Bungai, and both of those guys were the best players that game, which is pretty amazing because they are so young and they had amazing games. We watched them grow from little kids at the academy, and now they're with professionals doing their thing, so I think it is also something to be excited about.”
I read that you connected with San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama when he was a teenager, sending him a suitcase of clothes. What is your relationship like now?
Mahinmi: “With Victor, I spent quite some time in San Antonio because part of my family is there, and it has been such a blur. From the first time I got in touch with Victor, a young fella with great potential struggling to find clothes that [fit]... my relationship with him started like that, me telling my agent to hook him up with [clothes]. Now, to see where he's at and just how he is handling situations and his career so far is great to see, but it feels like everything happened like that. Crazy, now you look back, and he’s already a year in, and he has exceeded any thoughts that anyone had on him, exceeding times 10. It's been a blur but a great journey.
Are you hoping to get some clothes in return?
Mahinmi: "I’m not even looking at the clothes now, Victor! I have way bigger expectations than [you] swinging clothes my way! The kid has an amazing, bright future. Imagine him at 23–24 years old, established in the league, understanding the speed of the game and understanding the refereeing."
You had multiple playoff matchups against LeBron James. Was he far and away the best guy you ever played against, or does another name come to mind?
Mahinmi: “When it comes to playoff performance, no, not in my career. [Throughout] my 13-year career and all the matchups I had against him, Bron is by far the guy who delivered the most. It’s a pretty impressive masterpiece that he’s done over his 20-year career. He’s damn near a 40-year-old still doing his thing. Look at him playing against Denver, and it’s just overall a masterpiece. I can’t even argue that. He’s by far [the best]; there’s no one that even comes near in that conversation who has been the guy that I played against.”
You won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. What was it like to go out and beat the Heat’s Big Three in their first year together?
Mahinmi: “I think that when you get that far in the season, you're not really thinking like that. It’s truly the two best teams of that season competing one against the other, so to say that because it was the first year of their Big Three that it added spicy sauce to our meal, it’s hard for me to say because we were so focused that whoever came, we were ready. You also have to backtrack on the history of the Mavs. They had lost two or three years prior to the Heat, so guys in the locker room were fired up to begin with. It had nothing to do with them; there was already a history between the Heat and Mavs. There were little things like when Dirk was sick, and I'll always remember D-Wade and Bron walking through the tunnel and fake coughing, and that added maybe a little bit of fuel on that specific day. But if you look at the overall picture, it wasn't about the Heat. It was really about us and being ready for whoever.”
One of your best statistical seasons was in 2016 with the Pacers. Was there any specific reason that season was your best statistically?
Mahinmi: “Obviously, the NBA is about opportunities. A lot of it happened because of an opportunity that was presented, but also because that year on the Pacers squad, everybody bought in, and they embraced me and utilized my skills to the best of my abilities. The season was great. I've never been a guy to look at stat sheets in my whole career. I always wanted to be more of an impact player, a glue guy, and that was embraced, spending four years in Indiana. That opportunity came in my last year. I think it was a combination. I was the backup to Roy [Hibbert], and then that year, I was a starter. It's me being comfortable with the city, the fans, the franchise, the coaching staff, and my teammates. It's a combination of all of that and gives me strength to go out there and perform for my team. I remember it didn't finish well because it's still right here, man [pointing at his heart]. We lost against the Raptors in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs, and funny enough, the last play of the game it was a two-point game. I felt like I was open. P [Paul George] threw a lob, I got pushed in the back, no call, then the next day the NBA came and said this should’ve been a foul. It didn't finish the way we wanted it to, but that season was great.”
