Basketball Africa League Unveils Team Rosters Ahead of Inaugural Season
BAL rosters feature 154 players from 24 countries across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S
Each of the 12 teams, which come from 12 African countries, will have up to 13 players
BAL Rosters Feature 154 Players from 24 Countries Across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S.; Rwanda’s Patriots Basketball Club to Face Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers in First BAL Game on May 16 at 4:00 p.m. CAT / 10 a.m. ET.
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today unveiled the rosters of all 12 BAL teams (https://bit.ly/3tMRoib) ahead of the league’s inaugural season, which tips off Sunday, May 16 at 4:00 p.m. CAT / 10 a.m. ET at the Kigali Arena in Rwanda. BAL rosters feature 154 players from 24 countries across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S.*
Each of the 12 teams, which come from 12 African countries, will have up to 13 players (12 active and one inactive), at least nine of whom are citizens in their respective team’s home country and up to four of whom are from other countries, with no more than two players per team from outside of Africa.
Ben Uzoh, who joined Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers, is poised to become the first former NBA player to play in the BAL, having played for the New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors from 2010-12. He was also a member of the Nigeria Senior Men’s National Team at the 2016 Olympics, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and FIBA AfroBasket in 2013 and 2015.
Nine players bring NBA G League experience to the BAL’s first season: Brandon Jay Costner and Prince Ibeh (Rwanda’s Patriots BBC); Myck Kabongo and Demarcus Holland (Mozambique’s Ferroviàrio de Maputo), Ibrahima Thomas (Mali’s AS Police); Uzoh, Taren Sullivan and Robert Christopher Daniels (Rivers Hoopers); and Ater Majok (Tunisia’s US Monastir). Twenty-one BAL players have NCAA Division 1 experience, with 11 of the 12 teams featuring at least one former Division 1 player.
BAL teams feature a combined 19 players who previously participated in Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program for top prospects from across the continent, including Mohab Yasser Abdelaty Abdallatif (Egypt’s Zamalek). Abdallatif is poised to graduate from NBA Academy Africa this year and becomes the first NBA Academy prospect to play in the BAL.
*Rosters are subject to change
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).
Media Contact:
Yvon Edoumou
Basketball Africa League
+221 77 637 3401
yedoumou@thebal.com
About the BAL:
The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa. The BAL, which is headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Regional Office Africa has organized in Africa and marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America. Fans can follow the BAL @theBAL on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and register their interest in receiving more information at www.theBAL.com.