Ater Majok: "Basketball saved my life"

Ater Majok is a leading figure in basketball, particularly in the BAL. Born in Sudan, Majok nonetheless plays for Lebanon at international level. The centre was forced to flee his country because of the civil war in 1992. And basketball completely changed his life.

"Growing up, it (basketball) saved my life and gave me a purpose in life," Majok told BBC Sport Africa. "When you grow up as a refugee and go to a new country, you're going to struggle, a lot of kids end up on the street."

He added. "I saw kids die, I saw kids go to prison, I saw kids get involved in illegal activities, and a lot of my friends went down that road. If I hadn't had basketball, I could easily have been persuaded to go down that road."

Majok discovers basketball in Australia

Majok and his family ended up in a refugee camp in Egypt for 8 years. The Sudanese was not yet drawn to basketball, because in the land of the pharaohs football dominates. "In Egypt, I hated basketball. It was all about football and volleyball. It made no sense to me", Majok recalls.

He left Egypt for Australia, notably Sydney. At 16, he came into contact with basketball. "On my first day in Australia, my cousin turned up at my place with a coach. He said: 'you're going to play basketball, you're 1m80, so you have to play basketball, forget football.'"

It was the start of a beautiful love story. But it was in 2004, when he arrived in the United States, that he began to play basketball in earnest. He says: "As I kept going, I started to like it, but it was only when I went to the United States and played in tournaments that I fell in love with it, because I saw what basketball could do for me."

He continues: "I had the opportunity to go to university and I (thought): 'I can get all this because I can dribble the ball, I can score?' That's when I started to buy into the system. "

Majok drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers

Majok was recruited by Connecticut to play college basketball on a scholarship before starting his professional career in 2010. He was subsequently drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011 as the 58th pick. Unfortunately, he was unable to play in the NBA in his first season. But he made four appearances when he was signed again in 2014.

Majok left the land of Uncle Sam for Lebanon. In 2016, he chose to represent the Middle Eastern country on the international stage. "South Sudan didn't have a team at the time, and the Australian team was stacked", he explains.

Still attached to Africa and South Sudan

Although he plays for Lebanon, Majok remains deeply attached to his country of origin, South Sudan. The Bright Stars are going to the Basketball World Cup for the first time in their history. A great opportunity for this East African country, torn apart by civil war. "People may not see it straight away, but qualifying for the World Cup unites people in South Sudan," Majok said. "There has been a lot of trauma, a lot of political problems, but now, when people watch the game, everyone holds hands and supports South Sudan, it bridges the gaps people have in the country."

When the Basketball Africa League (BAL) began, Majok jumped at the chance to return to Africa. He signed with Tunisian side US Monastir. Majok helped his team finish second in the first season before winning the BAL in 2022. This year, he finished fourth with Petro de Luanda. "The BAL gave a lot of players the opportunity to come back from the Middle East, Asia and all these different countries, and play on the continent."