The fourth edition of the Rising Stars Basketball Championship is set for July 2025. Organised by the Olumide Oyedeji Youth Foundation, the championship promotes grassroots basketball by identifying young talents early and offering a platform for skill development and exposure.

According to the founder and former NBA player, Olumide Oyedeji, the 2025 edition will target U-17 players nationwide. He revealed that the championship aims not only to improve players’ technical abilities, but also to instill discipline, teamwork, and leadership through structured training and mentorship.

“This year’s edition will bring together some of the best young prospects from all regions of Nigeria,” Oyedeji said. He added: “We are committed to using basketball to empower youth, promote education, and build future leaders on and off the court.”

Reeling out the impacts of the past editions, Olumide revealed that the Most Valuable Player of the last edition, Ikenna Alozie at Dream City Christian, Arizona, is currently the number one high school player and five-star high school player in the United States of America.

He named another beneficiary of the championship as Sulaimon Azeez, a junior national team member for Nigeria who currently plays in France.

“Over 15 beneficiaries are playing outside Nigeria; we have Samson Masebinu, who was part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Academy. He is also part of the Petro Luanda of Angola’s team competing at the 2025 Basketball Africa League.”