Hoop dreams of a Senegalese b-baller come true at Special Olympics

Ablaye Ndiaye celebrates during a basketball game in Dakar, Senegal on March 11, 2023. His celebratory dances during games at this year's Special Olympics have become iconic enough to make the highlight reels. "Ablaye provides the team with energy, he brings joy. He's basically the face of the team," said Yoro Ndiaye, team Senegal's basketball coach. (Nacer Talel/NBAE via Getty Images)

Ablaye Ndiaye made the long journey from Dakar, Senegal, to the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany to play basketball. But the 35-year-old's personal highlight during the week-long Games didn't happen on a basketball court. It was on the track of Berlin's Olympic stadium, where Ndiaye carried the blazing Olympic torch during the opening ceremony on June 17. A rapturous crowd of 50,000 cheered him on.

"Holding the torch at the opening ceremony was a great moment," Ndiaye told NPR on Friday, two days before the end of the games. It's little surprise that he was selected as one of a handful of athletes to participate in the final relay leg of the torch run. The captain of Senegal's 34-athlete delegation, Ndiaye has an affectionate ease with his teammates and coaches, and his celebratory dances during basketball games have become iconic enough to make the World Games highlight reels. His charisma is evident at the end of this video about Senegal's performance at a recent tournament.