Long after the excitement of basketball first hooked a young Masai Ujiri on the game, he marvels at the sport’s ability to still captivate him.
“That feeling has never gone away,” says the barrier-breaking NBA executive. “And it created an incredible journey that continues to this day.”
From player to scout to the front office, Ujiri has accumulated accolades and achieved the kind of success in professional basketball few could ever fathom for a kid who grew up in northern Nigeria. But he believes his work with Giants of Africa — the organization he started to uplift youth from Africa with programs focused on empowerment and leadership through the lens of basketball — will prove to be the most rewarding and enduring of his life.
“Like these kids, I grew up on the continent of Africa,” says Ujiri. “I know the landscape of what the kids go through. I know they dream just like I did, and it really inspires me because when I look at what my talent level and my educational opportunity was, those kids have more talent, they’re smarter, they have ways to communicate now that I didn’t. Why not show them that path and share my experience with them?”
Founded in 2003, Giants of Africa was an idea that formed in the mind of Ujiri while he was coaching the Nigerian junior national team. Basketball camps in the United States, which Ujiri first attended and served as a counselor/coach while he was in college, were run differently compared to camps back home. Missing was the ability for campers to leave with highly coveted gear, tutorials on the fundamentals of the game and guidance from inspirational figures who could attest that the inconceivable is achievable with hard work, leadership and integrity.
“The biggest hope is my dream will make these kids dream even bigger and they can learn how to overcome and do anything they want,” says Ujiri. “I just want to give more youth as much opportunity as possible because they are deserving and capable.”
After six years as a professional basketball player in Europe, Ujiri became a scout for the NBA’s Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets before the Toronto Raptors hired him as the franchise’s director of global scouting and assistant general manager in 2007. Four years later, Ujiri was named general manager of the Nuggets and became the first African GM in pro sports. He was honored as the 2013 NBA Executive of the Year for serving as the architect of a Denver team that won 57 games in the regular-season. Later that same year, Ujiri returned to Toronto after he was named president of the Raptors. Under his leadership, Toronto made history by becoming the first franchise outside the U.S. to capture the NBA championship in 2019. Two years later, Ujiri added the role of vice-chairman to his duties with the franchise.
Ujiri, who lives in Miami with his wife, Ramatu, and their three children, has also served as director of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders Africa program. He has travelled with the Prime Minister as part of the Canadian delegation to the 2019 African Union meetings and serves on the advisory board of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security. Ujiri has also been named an officer to the Order of Canada for his contributions as a Raptors executive and humanitarian.
Spurred on by his ethos of “Dream Big,” Ujiri’s Giants of Africa has inspired boys and girls across the continent to be resilient, accountable and ambitious through its camps and community events. Children in 20 countries have been encouraged to not just set their sights on becoming accomplished basketball players, but also coaches, executives, and future leaders.
One of the foundation's most ambitious goals is to build 100 community basketball courts across Africa. Thirty-seven have debuted since the program was initiated in 2021, including a court in Alego, Kenya, that was constructed by Giants of Africa to celebrate its 15th anniversary. Ujiri’s friend, former U.S. President Barack Obama, notably attended the opening ceremony.
In 2023, the non-profit commemorated its 20th anniversary with the inaugural Giants of Africa Festival — a celebration that featured NBA players helping mentor over 250 youth basketball players on hand from 16 nations. The weeklong festival concluded with a concert attended by 10,000 spectators who were treated to performances from chart-topping artists Davido, Tiwa Savage and Tyla.
The Giants of Africa Festival returned to Kigali, Rwanda, in July 2025 welcoming 320 youth (boys and girls) basketball players - creating 40 teams from 20 nations. The weeklong celebration included Giants of Africa’s first ever fashion show and culminated with a concert headlined by Ayra Starr and Kizz Daniel for a sold-out show at Kigali’s BK Arena. This year's festival also marked the grand opening of Zaria Court Kigali — Masai Ujiri's groundbreaking infrastructure development project that blends community, sports, culture and entertainment. Strategically positioned in the heart of Kigali's dynamic sports district, this landmark development represents the flagship project of Zaria Group, which was co-founded by Ujiri with a vision to revitalize urban spaces, create meaningful employment opportunities, and drive sustainable economic growth across Africa.
“Every time we do something with Giants of Africa, it’s just a joy,” says Ujiri. “I’m hoping the better moments and better times are ahead because that’s what our mindset is and there is so much more we can do.”
BOILERPLATE
Masai Ujiri, an award-winning and barrier-breaking sports executive, is the founder of Giants of Africa. Started in 2003, GOA draws upon Ujiri’s unique basketball journey to achieve its goal of uplifting African youth with programs focused on empowerment and leadership. As the first African general manager in North American professional sports who was named NBA Executive of the Year in 2013, Ujiri’s ascent to the top of the basketball world began in his native Nigeria and took him around the world as a player, scout and executive, culminating in 2019 when he served as the architect of a Toronto Raptors team that became the first franchise outside the United States to be crowned NBA champions. In 2023, Masai co-founded Zaria Group, an organization that is catalyzing sports, entertainment and cultural infrastructure in Africa through the development, management and commercialization of large multi-purpose venues (including arenas and stadiums) and their surrounding ecosystems. These projects are intended to accelerate Africa's growth in the sports and entertainment industry, creating jobs and fostering new businesses. Ultimately, however, Ujiri believes his work with Giants of Africa will prove to be the most meaningful and rewarding of his life.