History was made at the NBA Draft on Wednesday night as a Kenyan-born forward became the first player developed through a local basketball academy to be selected in the first round, going 18th overall.

The 6’9″ forward, who honed his game in Nairobi before moving to the United States for high school, becomes only the second Kenyan ever drafted into the NBA and the highest pick by a Kenyan-born player in league history.

“This is for every kid on a dusty court in Kenya dreaming big,” the newly drafted player said after his name was called. “If I can do it, you can too.”

Basketball federation officials in Kenya say the milestone is expected to boost interest in the sport domestically, with several new training programmes already in the pipeline.