Quest Water Global joins NBA Africa to deliver 55 Mutombo courts in DR Congo by 2030
Image by NBA Africa
NBA Africa has named Quest Water Global its Official Infrastructure Development Partner in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, under a multiyear agreement to build or renovate 55 full-size and 3-on-3 basketball courts across the country by 2030 in honour of the late Dikembe Mutombo. The partnership now attaches a commercial partner to a tribute first pledged by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in February 2025, and moves part of NBA Africa's 1,000-court target from commitment to a defined build schedule.
The programme opened on 29 September with a new outdoor court at Cercle Onatra in Kinshasa, where Mutombo began playing with Basketball Club Onatra before leaving for the United States. The unveiling came a day short of the second anniversary of his death. His No. 55 is painted at centre court, and the league expects the site to serve thousands of local young people each year. NBA Africa marked the opening with a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA clinic for 80 local coaches. A second court will open in the coming weeks in Mbuji-Mayi, the hometown of Mutombo's family according to the NBA.
"Dikembe believed basketball was a powerful tool for teaching young people discipline, teamwork, resilience, leadership, and service to others," said Rose Mutombo. "My hope is that this court, and many more to come, will help inspire future generations to embrace these values, pursue education, and discover the opportunities the game can create."
Quest Water Global, a water solutions company, framed its involvement around community infrastructure rather than basketball. "Collaborating with NBA Africa on this court build initiative reflects our shared belief that healthy, thriving communities need more than one thing. They need clean water, safe spaces, and the opportunity to grow," said chief executive John Balanko. NBA Africa CEO Clare Akamanzi said the partnership would "expand access to basketball across the Democratic Republic of the Congo", creating more opportunities for young people in Mutombo's native DRC to follow in his footsteps as players and leaders.
Mutombo, the fourth overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft, played 18 seasons, made eight All-Star teams, won Defensive Player of the Year four times and retired second on the league's all-time blocks list. He entered the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015 and became the NBA's first global ambassador after retiring in 2009. Off the court, his foundation built the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasa, named after his mother, which opened in 2007. When Silver announced the 55 courts at the NBA Africa luncheon during All-Star Weekend in 2025, the pledge was continental, with Kinshasa as the starting point. Nineteen months on, all 55 are allocated to the DRC, with a 2030 deadline and a dedicated infrastructure partner.
The 1,000-court commitment is being delivered in a similar way. The first instalment, announced in Nairobi in October 2024, was 100 courts in Kenya built with Opportunity International.
NBA Africa on the continent
Recently, the NBA closed NBA Academy Africa in Senegal, its only elite training centre on the continent. The academy opened in 2017, trained about 110 players and produced NBA draftees Khaman Maluach and Ulrich Chomche. The league is folding elite development into a new global academy in Abu Dhabi, having also shut its academies in Mexico and Australia. NBA Africa seems to be moving away from costly, slow-return programmes and asking partners and investors to carry more of the expansion. As reported last month, that bidders for NBA Africa teams have come from Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa submitted initial offers in June for up to 10 permanent Basketball Africa League teams, several above $50 million, with Moelis & Company running the process. Private money is already arriving at club level. Lupita Nyong'o announced last month that she had invested in Nairobi City Thunder, the first Kenyan side to qualify for the BAL, joining musician Bien-Aime Baraza and Chiki Kuruka in the ownership group. Mutombo was among the founding investors when NBA Africa was formed in 2021, alongside Grant Hill, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Junior Bridgeman, with Silver putting the venture's enterprise value at nearly $1 billion.
More on NBA Africa
