Masai Ujiri

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. 

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 in Africa. 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 hardship 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 has also served as director of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders Africa program. He has travelled with Prime Minister Trudeau 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 in whatever field they choose.