In the midst of all the excitement, African players have managed to perform and stand out at their respective franchises and some have even become household names in their teams’ home cities.

It has been just over a year since coach Jason Kidd of the Milwaukee Bucks assigned the reins of point guard to Nigerian-Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and in the last 12 months the 22-year old All-Star shot from stardom to superstardom.

With his new position, Antetokounmpo progressed from being one of the young bucks at his squad to the leader and playmaker at the team from Milwaukee. Not since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played for the Bucks from 1969 to 1975, has a player at the franchise led the stats board in all major categories.

During the regular season, he had career highs in points (22.9), rebounds (8.8), assists (5.4), steals (1.6) and blocks (1.9). Previously, only four players in NBA history had led their teams in these five major statistical categories: Dave Cowens (1977/78), Scottie Pippen (1994/95), Kevin Garnett (2002/03) and LeBron James (2008/09).

In addition, Antetokounmpo became the first player in NBA history to finish in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

After spending two seasons recovering from a foot injury, Cameroonian rookie sensation Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers had an explosive debut in the league in the 2016/17 season and quickly put himself in the rookie-of-the-year discussion.

His size, speed and agility have been hugely impressive and helped reignite the excitement around Philly basketball which is reminiscent of the Allen Iverson era. Embiid’s dominant presence also contributed to the rejuvenation of the Sixers team which has been struggling for many seasons.

Before he was injured, he played in 31 games for Philadelphia and averaged 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, and shot 46.6 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from 3-point range and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Many critics have argued that even though he did not play in all the 76ers’ regular-season games, he should still be considered for the top rookie accolade for the year.

Congolese/Angolan-Swiss center Clint Capela of the Houston Rockets had a decent regular season and stepped up his efforts in the postseason to help his team beat the Oklahoma City Thunder and make it to the second round.

The 22-year-old, 6-foot-10 big man ended the season leading the Rockets in rebounds and averaged 10.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.

He shot 60.6 percent from the field, 60 percent from the free-throw line and was nothing but ‘trouble’ to opponents in the paint. In the last three games of the Rockets-Spurs second-round series, he grabbed a combined 27 rebounds, with his best performance coming in Game 3 of the series in which he had 15 rebounds and 12 points.

Congolese power forward Serge Ibaka was acquired by the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline and is arguably the best defensive decision that the franchise could have made.

The big man from Brazzaville was very instrumental in the Raptors’ first-found performance in the playoffs when they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks.

He played a pivotal role in helping his team clinch the first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks 4-2. He averaged 14.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and two blocks per game, shooting 46.2 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from beyond the arc and 84.6 percent from the free-throw line.

Ibaka started all of Toronto’s playoffs games and had good impact on both ends of the court.

Gambian-German point guard at the Atlanta Hawks, Dennis Schroder, continued to improve his efficiency during the 2016/17 season and looks poised become one of the league’s top guards.

The 23-year-old took the playmaker reins after Jeff Teague’s trade to the Indiana Pacers and did a better-than-average job of running the point at the Hawks.

He averaged 18.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, shooting 45 percent from the field, 33.7 percent from 3-point range and 85.3 percent from the foul line.

By Kaunda Chama

@therealkaunda on Twitter