JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, April 10, 2020/ -- NBA Together continues as NBA and WNBA players, coaches and legends get online and participate in Jr. NBA at Home and NBA Together Live initiatives. As part of Jr. NBA at Home, African players stay active. Chiney Ogwumike (https://bit.ly/2UXvdHH) took part in a three-point challenge while Mo Bamba (https://bit.ly/2Rt5W6f) took fans through a ball handling circuit which everyone can practice at home. 

The Jr. NBA at Home initiative is part of NBA Together (https://on.nba.com/39Wa5G3), a global community and social engagement campaign that aims to support, engage, educate and inspire youth, families and fans in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Visit https://twitter.com/NBA_Africa and https://www.facebook.com/NBAAfrica/ for more Jr. NBA at Home content.

As part of NBA Together Live, every weekday at 9:00 p.m. CAT and 10:00 p.m. CAT a member of the NBA family participates in a live interview or takes questions from fans on the NBA's Instagram live or Twitter. Additionally, every night the NBA streams classic games on NBA social platforms including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Twitch. Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker joined Instagram Live last night with LA Lakers' JaVale McGee set to join the platform this evening. In addition, head coach of the 1994 and 1995 NBA Champion Houston Rockets, Rudy Tomjanovich, will speak to fans on Twitter Live at 10 p.m. CAT tonight.

Inspired by NBA Together, the Basketball Africa League has launched #BALTogether, a social engagement campaign that will feature members of NBA Africa and BAL families who will engage with fans across the continent through a series of PSAs and demonstrations of individual basketball skills.

The upcoming BAL videos will feature former NBA players Salah Mejri (Tunisia), Pops Mensah-Bonsu (UK/Ghana), Boniface Ndong (Senegal); former WNBA players Clarisse Machanguana (Mozambique), Hamchetou Maiga-Ba (Mali); New York Liberty's Amanda Zahui (Sweden/Ivory Coast); Raptors Assistant Coach Patrick Mutombo (DRC); and 76ers Player Development Specialist Remy Ndiaye (Senegal). 

NBA 2K Player Tournament quarterfinals took place last night, with the semifinals and finals set for this Saturday, April 11. Please see below for last night's scores and highlights:

Devin Booker vs. Rui Hachimura 75-55 (https://bit.ly/2UXvASC)

Montrezl Harrell vs. Derrick Jones Jr. 71-66 (https://bit.ly/34t3wJW)

Trae Young vs. DeAndre Ayton 66-73 (https://bit.ly/2JRbEdU)

Andre Drummond vs. Patrick Beverly 62-69 (https://bit.ly/2wuktY9)

The April 11 semifinals have been set:

DeAndre Ayton vs Patrick Beverly

Devin Booker vs Montrezl Harrell

Luol Deng & Pops Mensah-Bonsu Return to Instagram Live on April 13: Former NBA players Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu will continue their Instagram Live discussions when they return to the social media platform on March 13 to share their experiences of playing professional basketball and representing Great Britain in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

In the previous episodes, the former players spoke about their African roots, growing up in London, moving to the United States at a young age and playing at the high school and college levels. The Instagram Live conversations will continue throughout next week, with Deng and Mensah-Bonsu still set to speak about their careers after retiring from the sport (April 15) and developing the game of basketball in Africa (April 17); and answer fans' questions (Monday 20).

Three-time NBA Champion LeBron James (LA Lakers) spoke to media on Thursday, April 9. Please see some of the quotes below:

On playing again this season...

"The line of communication is open, you know not only from the owners, from the players, from the whole league and Adam Silver and everyone... Obviously, the number one thing, like I said, is the safety and a wellbeing of all of us here in America first and getting this pandemic under control. You know, I believe, once that's under control, and they allow us to resume some type of activity, I would love to get the season back on. I feel like we are in a position when we can get back and start to compete for a championship, you know, get back to doing what we love to do."

On staying positive during the coronavirus pandemic...

"I'm always pretty optimistic about everything. I feel like it's always greener on the other side of the fence. I believe that this is a roadblock for all of us, not only as Americans, but for the world ... It's a test of our mental side, our spiritual side, it's a test for everything. We had grown so comfortable with how we live our life and everyday life that it's now time to take a pause. I'm very optimistic about not only just basketball, but sport. It's not just about the Lakers. It's not just about the NBA, but it's everything."

On being able to spend more time with family...

"I'm able to train with my boys... I'm able to have tea time and color with my daughter. I'm able to be with my wife on a day-to-day basis every single day, either watching the kids or watching a TV series from start (to finish); binge watching series and things of that nature. Playing video games with my kids. Playing card games with my wife and my family. So it's definitely been a bit of a blessing to be able to be here 24/7, be here with your family and being able to – I don't want to say 'recoup' the time, because that's one thing you cannot do. Time waits for no man and you can't do that. But to be able to appreciate it and be in this moment, it's been pretty cool. Even though I've missed the game of basketball like none other."

"They wake up every day in a positive mind frame. Maybe one reason is they're not actually in school, so I know they get to sleep in a lot more now. But also they're just so appreciative of life. ... Just being able to see my kids wake up with that positive attitude helps. For me, I wake up, I'm able to get a nice breakfast, and then I train. And when I'm training, I'm always in a very positive state of mind."