About Us

My name is Nathi Emmanuel Middleton. I held a basketball for the first time in 2003 at wits university. I still remember the chills i felt. I had to take my shot, well i fortunately missed it. That was the beginning of my basketball journey.

 

I drew my inspiration from players like Quintin Denyssen, Lesego Molebatsi, Tshepo Ditshego, Nsikelelo Mzibomvu just to mention a few. They made basketball look easy from the outside. I wanted to be the next big player in the game. So i put in the work, daily.

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I joined the university 2nd team in 2004, under the leadership of coach Terry "Tiger" Nxumalo. He amped up my game! In the same season coach Tladi "Touch" Mabulelong who was the first team coach then, recruited me to the first team. Thats correct, i made it to the first team in the first year. Proof that hard work pays off.

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The grind never ended, In 2008 i started getting involved in the organisation and running of a basketball league when Gauteng Basketball Association launched League of Pros (LOP). I dropped out of university and could not play for the university anymore, that led to my involvement in the formation of Braamfontein Blues basketball club led by coach Tshiamo Ngakane. Later i joined Legends basketball team led by Cabby Magongwa.

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In 2010 i embarked on a quest to discover my roots. I found myself in Swaziland in a small town called Nhlangano. That is where Warriors Basketball was born. I named it Nhlangano Warriors then. We played 2 seasons in the 1st division of the Swaziland National Basketball League (2011 and 2012). In the first year we won the Sportsmanship of the year award. In the second year we won the division and was promoted to the Premier Division. That is when i left the team in the capable hands of Melusi "Skwila" Hlophe.

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In 2013 i was back in my hood Eziphunzini, Piet Retief now called eMkhondo. Introduced basketball at Amadlelo Aluhlaza Secondary school and Nqubeko Secondary school. In the same year formed a club called Mkhondo Eagles as well as formalising Mkhondo Basketball Association. I was also involved in the formation and functioning of the Mkhondo Basketball League.

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In 2015, my passion died out slowly. I made my way back to the city of gold (Johannesburg) in my search for better opportunities. I fell in love with basketball all over again when i learnt that FIBA has introduced 3x3 and was in the process of formalising it to be a stand alone discipline. Cabby Magongwa's vision to see a South African national 3x3 team in the Olympics was all i needed to get the fire burning.

In 2019 Darkchild Productions launched "Vision Olympics", a series of monthly 3x3 tournaments. Warriorz Basketball team was formed. Warriorz won the March edition of the Vision Olympics series. Then lockdown happened.

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In 2020, Warriorz Basketball registered as a FIBA3x3 event organiser. I enrolled to study 3x3 basketball through the e-learning platform and got my certification earlier that year. Thanks to lockdown!

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2022, Warriorz Basketball launched the first of its kind "3X3 Balling Sessions". These are by-weekly 3x3 basketball tournaments from July until December, where winners of each session qualify to play in the Balling Sessions finals in December. Current Champions are the Dripout Ballers, led by Mzwakhe Booi.

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In 2023 Warriorz Basketball aim to play in the fiba3x3 professional circuit. Ultimately play in the world tour. We understand that this comes with hardwork and financial implications. Its the reason we have set up this website. We need and ask for your support. Checkout our events section for upcoming events. Please do sign up as a member and enjoy the perks of being a member.

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Thank you for reading, i know its not professionally written but its our story nevertheless. Looking forward to having you onboard.