Pic Credit: Basketball Without Borders

The last few weeks have been eye opening for 18 year old Jamie Edoka of easyCredit BBL team Skyliners from Frankfurt. It began with his solid performance at the Next Gen Euroleague where he competed against the best youth players in the world. He didn´t have much time to relax as he then traveled to Los Angeles to participate in the well known Basketball Without Borders Camp that has showcased world class players since 2001 that has placed 140 players to the NBA or WNBA like Marc Gasol, Joel Embiid, Shai Gillgeous-Alexander, Pascal Siakam, Josh Giddey or Jamal Murray. Edoka was one of two Germans with Joel Lindsay of Wurzburg to participate in Los Angeles. It was only the second Skyliner player since Isaac Bonga 9 years ago to participate at the event. “Being able to participate at Basketball Without Borders was a confirmation of the hard work that I have put in. It was very special to know that Isaac Bonga had been there before and I was the first one since him and the only German”, stressed Jamie Edoka. Did the fact that Bonga had been there and went on to having an incredible career with the NBA and winning of the World Cup and Euro give him that extra self-confidence that he could also have a great career? “Knowing that gives me a lot of confidence, but also the extreme desire and motivation to keep working hard on my game”, stated Jamie Edoka. It is no surprise that his summary of his days in Los Angeles were positive. “It was a good time. It was very good competition with the best young players in the world and I learned a lot on the court and met nice people off the court”, remembered Jamie Edoka.

pic credit: Basketball Without Borders

Leaving Frankfurt for a trip to another big city like Munich or Berlin in Germany can be overwhelming or not, but what about when you leave your home land and take the long trek across Atlantic ocean and step off the plane at LAX in Los Angeles. One has to wonder what was going through Jamie Edoka´s mind during the 12 hour flight to Los Angeles? Frankfurt has a big airport already, but in terms of passengers visited per year, Los Angeles takes the prize with 75 million to 59 million. Did Frankfurt feel like a village when he began his first car ride through metropolitan Los Angeles? “It did a little. There are many cars and trucks. It is crazy to see that. You think that Frankfurt is already big, but then you see Los Angeles. It´s all so much different”, said Jamie Edoka. I can remember 10 years ago when I was last in Los Angeles that the traffic was simply horrible. It took around 2 hours to get from Long Beach to Anaheim. There must have been many differences to what he sees daily in Germany. “The traffic was really bad. The whole vibe was so different to Germany. The people are a lot more open, friendly and the energy is better”, stated Jamie Edoka. When the event Basketball Without Borders is handled by the NBA, did it feel a bit like being a NBA player? “The organization was great. It felt special. Being able to practice at the Lakers practice facility was unbelievable. Seeing the pics of all the NBA legends on the wall was amazing. The organization was at the NBA level, but I didn´t feel like a NBA player”, added Jamie Edoka.

Pic credit: Basketball Without Borders

Jamie Edoka and the other prospects had 3 days of practice from Friday to Sunday. The first day incorporated 4 hours, the second day 5 hours and the last day 4 hours. The three days were filled with transition drills, skill development sessions, 3X3 and 5X5 games, team practice and a three point contest. Were the drills different to what he does in Germany? “I don´t think that it was all to different except that there were legends as coaches and that they really went into detail. There were various stations like finishing, transition, ball handling and defense. I didn´t learn to much new things, but learning from ex NBA players made it special”, commented Jamie Edoka. He also took part in the 3X3 games and 5X5 games. “Both went well. The 3X3 isn´t really my discipline, but I was able to work on creating my shot. I was more passive with the 5X5. There were a lot of dominant guards taking part. I was working more off ball. It wasn´t ideal, but I was still satisfied how it went”, stressed Jamie Edoka. There were so many other talented guys from around the world, but in terms of guys from Germany, he wasn´t alone. His good friend Teo Milicic was present as well as Joel Lindsay from Wurzburg. “Teo and I spent a lot of time together. He was on my team and was my point guard. Each team had 10 players. We also chilled together off the court”, remembered Jamie Edoka. He also took part at the 3 point shooting contest and must of picked something special from the practice sessions, because he finished in third place and his best round was 17/25. His three pointer this season continued to be a work in progress. He began the Pro B season shooting only 3/23 in his first 5 games, but when he returned form Los Angeles, he displayed much better accuracy in the big 94-76 win at home against Wurzburg shooting 4/7 from the parking lot. He didn´t only work on his shooting in Los Angeles, but also on his decision making especially on the pick and roll. He enjoyed working with ex Euroleague player James Gist who won 15 titles overseas and most with Panathinaikos Athens. “It was great to work together with James Gist. He gave me a lot of courage and confidence. He told me that I´m a good player. He helped me how to find the center better on the pick and roll. He is a great guy. We still write each other”, expressed Jamie Edoka. His development continues to be monitored as his NBBL coach Thore Bethke who witnessed Edoka´s first game back in the Pro B. “‘I have coached Jamie since the U-14. He has always had self confidence, but what really stood out today was the precision in his game. It was very sharp. He is learning to become more efficient’, stressed Thore Bethke.

Pic Credit: Basketbal Without Borders

Jamie Edoka who was coached by Italian basketball legend Danilo Gallinari and met Indiana Pacer Pascal Siakam was very preoccupied during the Basketball Without Borders camp and wasn´t able to see most of the NBA Allstar game festivities like the Rising Stars game, Celebrity game, three point shooting contest and the Slam Dunk contest, but he did attend the 2026 NBA Allstar game and saw legends like Lebron James, Steph Curry, Luca Doncic, Anthony Edwards and Wemby play. There was also a new kind of format that had 3 Round Robin games and a championship game. “I thought that the new format was cool. I thought the players played hard and weren´t taking it easy. I really enjoyed watching Wemby and Anthony Edwards play. It was cool to observe how they play and how unstoppable they are”, said Jamie Edoka. One sees 1-2 spectacular new highlight films daily from Victor Wembanyama and it surely wasn´t any different during the NBA allstar game. It was also no surprise that his biggest moment during his L.A stay was seeing his favorite player. “Lebron James is my favorite player. Just being able to see him play was my biggest moment”, said Jamie Edoka. Was he able to bring any souvenirs back from Los Angeles? “I brought back 6-7 Gatorade bottles and a long sleeve practice jersey”, stated Jamie Edoka. All in All, his days there were one that he will never forget and his name has risen a bit more on the basketball world radar.