NBA Academy Games bring top basketball prospects to Atlanta’s Holy Innocents

On a Wednesday afternoon, on the same day that South American and European soccer superpowers Argentina and England were to play in one of the FIFA World Cup semifinals inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, some of the best international basketball prospects packed into a high school gymnasium on the other side of town.

More than 40 top international high school basketball prospects, including players from African nations and Canada, met at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School to take part in the 2026 NBA Academy Games. Starting today and running through Saturday, July 19, teams met in pool play, and then in a playoff format, and then ultimately in a championship game on Sunday afternoon.

The same day FIFA, and by extension the world, would be crowning a soccer champion, the NBA Academy Games would be crowning its own.

The event takes place during the live NCAA recruiting period, so smack dab in the middle of the Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) era, these games were more like auditions than it was a summer basketball tournament.

Teams included nationally recognized AAU clubs such as NY Rens, Iowa United, Legynds (Oklahoma), and Genesis Basketball from Calgary, Canada.  

Players like Spanish point guard Dominique Fisher were leading the way on day one. Even though his NBA Academy Blue team lost its first game to NBA Academy Africa, 68-61, Fisher displayed savvy point-guard skills and unselfishness that will make the 6’2” guard an interesting prospect in the Class of 2026. 

On his team was one of the most interesting prospects at the NBA Academy Games. 6’ 7” center Jongkuch Mach, an Australian national, is built more like a small forward than an anchor in the paint. Mach had a dunk late in the game that kept his team in front. Being a Class of 2027 prospect will help Mach mature a bit more and give him time to learn to get his shot off. Several times during the game, he found difficulty taking advantage of the huge height disparity. He towered over the tallest players on the NBA Academy Africa roster, 6’ 10” forward Mahmadou Ladoure (Mali, Class of 2027), 6’ 10” forward Benjamin Davies (Sierra Leone, Class of 2028), and 6’ 9” forward Almoustapha Hama Ide (Niger, Class of 2027). 

Legynds were being led by Class of 2026 JUCO prospect Jojo Baba. The 6’ 6” guard could be described as the team’s leader. He took the ball to the basket during his team’s first game of the day against NY Rens United. His game has a poor man’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander feel. Throughout the game, you could hear Baba encouraging his teammates and calling out defensive assignments. “Guard somebody, guard somebody,” he said.  With his team down 48-46, Baba took the ball to the rim and converted a three-point play to put them back in front 49-48. 

NY Rens United brought 6 ’11” center, Zion Robinson (Class of 2028), and Jackson Cullert, a smooth-shooting 6’ 8” forward from The Hun School in Princeton, New Jersey. The Rens coaching staff displayed a lot of trust in Cullert, often calling plays for him when the offense stalled. Robinson, a two-sport athlete (baseball) out of Connecticut, wasn’t aggressive on the offensive end, often settling for setting screens for his teammates, and always getting back on defense. 

Iowa United had only six players available for their game against Genesis Canada, but you could tell this group had played together for some time. The ball movement between guards Emri Jones and James Scharnberg kept them in the game with a full roster of Canadian talent, like 6’4” guard Soren-Tino Nicholson and Rasheed Morrison, a 6′ 5” forward. 

It was Iowa United 6 ’8” forward Afred Kole (Class of 2027) and 6′ 5” shooter Zivko Mirkovic (Class of 2027) who were players to watch. Kolee used his big frame to get several dunks, and Mirkovic, a native of Serbia, displayed an ability to shoot from deep off screens, something that will make him useful on the next level and beyond.  

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