That’s me last week in Vilnius, Lithuania, where I had the good fortune to spend several days leading the “Toward the Development of Sports Diplomacy: Understanding, Exchanging, Realizing” workshop hosted by the National Sports Agency. You can read more about that fantastic experience and set of exchanges here and here. Being in one of the Baltic meccas of basketball prodded me to think more deeply about the game, ignited my creative flair, and inspired this series.

For basketball in Lithuania is more than a game.

In the aftermath of a magical Paris 2024 Olympic Tournament, the dynamism of basketball across the continents illustrates that the world’s got game beyond the Games

They say that Paris is the City of Love, but last summer Steph Curry broke my heart in the City of Light. With three minutes left in the Olympic gold medal match and Team France just three points behind Team USA, Curry unfurled a series of three-point shots that put to bed French hopes for a victory on home soil. Lovers of the game, even those like me, who were rooting for Les Bleus, had to admire the artistry and dedication to craft that enabled those shots to sail clear through the net by the undisputed king of the three-point shot.  

The Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony delivered a magical evening that, in retrospect, maybe we all needed. I, at least, did after a day-long impromptu roadtrip from Nantes to Lille thanks to saboteurs whose coordinated acts crippled France’s famed high speed rail network.

After a fantastic few months in France, some top notes about the role(s) sports diplomacy can play communicating within our global world