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LeBron James, one of the world’s most popular athletes and the all-time leading scorer in the American Basketball League (NBA), made his first visit to Saudi Arabia, where he participated in two training sessions with the players. Some of the players of the Saudi youth basketball team and women’s first team.
President of the Saudi Arabian Basketball Federation, Qalanithi Ghazan Tashkenti, expressed his happiness over James’ three-day visit. He said: “Today we are honored to welcome LeBron James to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We were all very happy when we saw the reactions of the male and female players and the smiles on their faces when he entered the hall. I would like to thank him for the passion he showed during training and for allowing his time to inspire the new generation. should.” Among the male and female players of our sport in the Kingdom.”
He added: “LeBron is more than an athlete and his influence on young men and women goes beyond the world of sports. I believe his presence today and his connection with male and female players created lifelong memories. He made their dreams come true.”
He continued: “Sports stars coming to the Kingdom to inspire, unite and inspire a new generation of male and female athletes in Saudi Arabia are very important, and I believe that superstar LeBron is considered one of the most talented individuals to achieve this.”
Participants in a training session organized by the Saudi Basketball Federation at the Al Azm Academy in Riyadh had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get advice from LeBron James and experience dribbling and shooting.
The player began his career in the NBA 20 years ago and broke many legendary records, winning four league championships, the Most Valuable Player award four times, the Finals MVP award four times, and two Olympic gold medals.
Saudi Arabia has become one of the major venues for hosting the most important international sporting events, including the “3×3 Basketball World Tour Championship” hosted twice by the city of Jeddah and last year as part of the Dariya season activities.
Sport in Saudi Arabia is witnessing tremendous change at all levels, with the percentage of sports federations increasing by 50% in the last four years, and the percentage of sports participation and physical activity among adults rising to 48%. It was 13% in 2015.
Basketball in particular has seen major improvements in recent years, with participation in Saudi Arabia increasing by 54% since 2018, thanks to dedicated programs across the Kingdom.
There are 240 players among the first generation of Saudi female basketball players. The number of registered teams has increased from 45 teams in 2018 to 105 teams this year, including 28 women’s teams. All six national teams for men and women represent the Kingdom at regional and world championships.
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