Basketball Africa League 2025: Key Teams and Players to Follow This Season
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
2025 BAL: Format and Participating Teams
The 2025 Basketball Africa League is set to tip off on April 5 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, marking the first time the league will visit Morocco. Regular-season games are scheduled to take place in Rabat, Kigali and Dakar, while postseason matches will be played in Pretoria, which will be another first for BAL.
A total of 12 teams will be battling it out on the hardwood, all aiming to reach the 2025 BAL Finals on June 14. The teams will be split up into three conferences consisting of four teams, and each team with face the other three teams in their section twice across the course of the campaign. The participating teams include:
- Petro de Luanda
- Al Ittihad
- Al Ahli Tripoli
- US Monastir
- Made by Basketball
- ASC Ville de Dakar
- Nairobi City Thunder
- Armee Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball
- Kriol Star Basketball
- Rivers Hoopers
- Stade Malien
- Fath Union Sport
Sahara Conference: Petro de Luanda; ASC Ville de Dakar; US Monastir; Kriol Star Basketball
Nile Conference: Nairobi City Thunder; Made by Basketball; Al Ahli Tripoli; Armee Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball
Kalahari Conference: Fath Union Sport; Al Ittihad; Rivers Hoopers; Stade Malien
Matches in the Sahara Conference get underway on April 26 and will be played at the Dakar Arena in Senegal. Nile Conference games start on May 17 in Kigali, and Kalahari Conference fixtures tip off on April 5 in Rabat.
Our expert tipsters will be providing their in-depth basketball predictions throughout the 2025 BAL, so be sure to check them out before tip-off.
Teams and Players to Follow at 2025 BAL
While every team in the competition has earned their right to be considered as potential challengers for the title, here are the ones that we feel could challenge for the top honours. Don't forget, you can live every moment of the 2025 BAL season using our basketball livescore tool.
Al Ahli Triploi (Libya)
Libyan outfit Al Ahli Tripoli is a team that many fans and experts are excited about this season, as they came through the Road to BAL qualifiers with a stunning 7-0 record to secure their first appearance in the competition. They are now set to become just the second team from their country to compete in BAL since the tournament began.
One player to keep an eye on for Tripoli is American Kevin Murphy, who led the team to a sensational semi-final victory during qualifying over the Ivory Coast’s ABC Fighters with a game-high 34 points. Across qualifying, Murphy averaged 22.7 points along with 3.7 assists and rebounds per game.
Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya)
Another team to make history during the Road to Bal was Nairobi City Thunder, which posted a very impressive 8-1 record to become the first Kenyan team to qualify for the competition. Under the guidance of Bradley Ibs, the Thunder have a solid core, while the head coach has also brought in a few good up-and-coming players to strengthen his depth options.
During qualifying, it became evident that Nairobi City Thunder prefer to rely on team performances rather than individual brilliance to get them wins, but Garang Diing still caught the eye with averages of 12.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He also led the team to victory over the formidable Kriol Star, racking up 20 points in the Division East Final.
Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria)
Finally, we have to take a moment to discuss the six-time Nigeria Premier Basketball League champions, Rivers Hoopers, who arrived in Morocco on Wednesday for their opening match of the competition against Stade Malian this weekend. The KingsMen finished with the bronze medal last season and are determined to reach the final in the upcoming campaign.
Will Perry, who was a top performer for Ogoh Odaudu’s side last season, will not feature for Rivers this season, having received a better offer elsewhere. However, in his absence, the nation is expecting Nigerian-Canadian guard Kelvin Amayo to stand up. Amayo was a key player for the KingsMen in their NBBF title run last year and has played in the NCAA in the United States.
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