That’s me, Boris Diaw. Two of my favorite things are playing hoops and taking photos of wild animals. I photographed these hippos when I was in Africa on safari, a special trip to see wildlife.

I loved watching this little lion cub lounge on a termite mound.

Hi, my name is Boris Diaw (sounds like DEE-ow). I’m a professional basketball player. I play for the National Basketball Association, or NBA, for short. I play all over the United States. I also play in Europe.

I have played hoops my whole life. I grew up in a small town named Bordeaux (sounds like bore-DOH) in southwest France. My mom was a pro basketball player, too. She used to shoot hoops with me. The game was her passion. Now it’s mine, too.

I love how basketball is a team sport. There’s a lot of spirit in it. Everyone on a team must work together. It’s like a pride of lions or a pack of African wild dogs.

Animals are another passion of mine. I love spending time outdoors and taking pictures of wild animals. I have taken photographs of wildlife in South Africa, Botswana (sounds like bot-SWAN-uh), Tanzania (sounds like tan-zan-EE-yuh), and India. I’ve watched hungry lions eat. I’ve tracked a tigress with her cubs. I have photographed colorful birds, rugged rhinos, and lounging leopards. When I’m at home in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A., my photos remind me of the peace I feel in the wild.

I started taking pictures of wildlife when I was seven years old. I was on a trip with my mom and my brother, Martin. We had gone to Senegal (sounds like sen-ih-GAWL) to visit my father. Senegal is a small country on the west coast of Africa. My dad still lives there today, in a city named Dakar (sounds like dah-CAR).

Martin and I had never been to Africa before. It was a big adventure for us. Dakar was very different from where we lived. The city smelled musty. The food tasted spicy.

During the trip, I got a disposable camera. I liked taking pictures of Dakar and all the people around me. But what I really wanted to see and photograph were wild animals.

Many wildlife lovers on safari hope to see lions. Trackers help find lions by looking for clues in the bush. They look for paw prints or signs of a kill, such as an animal’s hide on the ground or bones. They listen for the roar of lions and calls of alarm from animals that lions like to eat. They sniff the air for the sharp smell of lion scat, or poop. Following clues from the bush just might lead to an awesome encounter with a big cat—just don’t get too close!

I was excited when we went to camp in the Niokolo-Koba (sounds like NYUH-koh-loh KOH-ba) National Park. My dad told us we’d see wild animals there. It felt like the longest drive ever—eight hours! As we drove deeper into Africa, it got hotter. We weren’t far from the Sahara. It was hotter than any place I knew. There were also lots of big, biting flies.

At the wildlife park, we saw hippos, monkeys, and antelope. We saw zebras and giraffes, too. I watched warthogs and their babies. They trotted around with tails held high. We watched and listened to birds, such as parrots and bee-eaters.

Wild animals here seemed different from the animals I loved watching at the zoo in France. In the Niokolo-Koba, I realized that wild animals have lives even when people aren’t watching.

Did You Know?

When it walks, a lion leaves paw prints as long as five inches (13 cm)! Each print has four toe indents, but no claw marks.

One night at the park, I started wondering what animals might be watching me. We were staying in little huts with folding beds, but no doors. Earlier that day, I had heard someone say they had spotted fresh lion tracks. What if a lion looked into our hut? I thought. What if it sneaks in? The idea scared me, but I was excited, too! I kept my eyes open—and my camera ready.

I never did see a lion on that trip. Too soon, we went back to Dakar, back to people and cars and noise. Then my mom, brother, and I flew home to France. But I wanted to go back into the wild. I loved looking at the pictures I took on my trip.

At home, I got back to basketball. I loved it so much, I played all day, every day. I still loved to explore nature, too. Every summer I spent three weeks camping. I built tree houses. I liked being away from the city. I liked hearing only the sounds of wildlife. It reminded me of the wildlife park in Senegal.

When I was a teenager, I went to a boarding school in Paris. Many serious basketball players go to high school there. My life was all about basketball. After high school, I played for a pro basketball club in France for three years. Then in 2003, I got drafted into the NBA and moved to the United States.

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