March 24, 2026

Everything you need to know about the 2026 BAL season

The wait is over - the sixth season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) has arrived!

The 12-team club competition will take place across three African cities from Friday 27 March to Sunday 31 May.

The first six teams to take to the floor in the Kalahari Conference – the Johannesburg Giants (South Africa), Petro de Luanda (Angola), Al Ahly Ly (Libya), the Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya), the Dar City (Tanzania) and the RSSB Tigers (Rwanda) – will compete from 27 March to 5 April at the iconic SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.

The next six teams to enter the race for the baobab-inspired BAL trophy in the Sahara Conference are Al Ahly (Egypt), JCA Giants (Côte d'Ivoire), Club Africain (Tunisia), FUS Rabat (Morocco), Maktown Flyers (Nigeria) and Ville de Dakar (Senegal). They will compete at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco, from 24 April to 3 May.

Every conference game matters, and the top four teams in each conference will advance to the 2026 BAL Playoffs, which are scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from 22 to 31 May.

This season, the 12 teams will play a total of 42 games.

What makes this season special?

*Michael Andre Dixon #00 of the Union Sportive Monastirienne shoots the ball during the game against the Zamalek on May 25, 2022, at the Kigali Arena.*

There are countless reasons to follow the sixth edition of the BAL, starting with star-studded squads that include some familiar names from across the continent and beyond.

For the first time in the league's history, three former MVPs are expected to play in the same season.

Mike Dixon, who inspired US Monastir to win the 2022 BAL title, now plays for Club Africain.

Jo Lual-Acuil and Jean-Jacques Boissy won the 2024 and 2025 BAL Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, respectively. Both players will go on to play for Libyan champions Al Ahly Ly.

Playoff Format

Play-off teams will be seeded based on their position and ranking within their respective conferences.

The team with the highest combined ranking from the two conferences will be the top seed, playing a two-game series against team with the eighth-highest ranking.

The team with the second-highest ranking will be the second seed, playing the team with the seventh-highest ranking. This pattern continues until all the teams have been seeded.

The winners of the quarter-final series will advance to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will compete in the final, while the losing teams will play each other for third place.

How to watch the games

Jo Lual-Acuil #41 of the Al Ahly Ly talks to the media after the game against the City Oilers during the Nile Conference Group play for the 2024 Basketball Africa League season on April 27, 2024 at Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo, Egypt.

Fans can attend the 2026 BAL season in person by buying tickets on the BAL.NBA.com website.

Alternatively, they can watch the season live and on demand via official NBA digital platforms, including the NBA app, NBA.com, the BAL YouTube channel and TheBAL.com, as well as through the league’s business partners.

Match-ups to watch

Prince Ali #12 of the Al Ahly three-point basket during the game against the Fath Union Sports de Rabat during the 2024 Basketball Africa League Playoffs on May 24, 2024, at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

Of the 15 eagerly anticipated match-ups expected in Pretoria, Petro de Luanda vs. Al Ahly Libyan is one of the regular season highlights as it is a rematch from the 2024 BAL Final.

Another headline-grabbing clash is FUS Rabat vs Al Ahly on the final day of the Sahara Conference on 3 May.

Each team will play each of their conference opponents once.

No defending champions

Although two former BAL champions, Al Ahly of Egypt and Petro de Luanda, will be present, Al Ahly Tripoli, the winner of the last BAL season, will not be defending its title after finishing second in the Libyan league in the 2025 season.

Newcomers to the BAL

Of the twelve teams competing in the 2026 BAL season, five will be making their debut in the competition.

Club Africain, Jeunesse Club d’Abidjan, Maktown Flyers, Dar City and Johannesburg Giants will all be making their mark on the league for the first time.

Players with NBA experience in the Kalahari Conference

Five players with NBA experience are on Kalahari Conference rosters this season, including Hasheem Thabeet (Tanzania; Dar City), Damion Baugh and Donovan Williams (U.S.; Al Ahly Ly), Mangok Mathiang (South Sudan/Australia; RSSB Tigers), and Michael Foster Jr. (U.S.; Dar City).

Thabeet is the only Tanzanian to have played in the NBA, suiting up for the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Oklahoma City Thunder between 2009 and 2014.

Baugh appeared in 15 regular‑season games for the Charlotte Hornets during the 2024–25 NBA season, averaging 7.3 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game, while Mathiang, who represented Australia internationally, featured for the Hornets in the 2017-18 season.

Williams played for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2022–23 season, and Foster Jr. made his debut with the Philadelphia 76ers in the same year.

Elevate Players

The BAL Elevate programme is back for its fifth season, once again placing 12 NBA Academy Africa prospects with the 12 participating teams. This gives young talent invaluable professional experience on a global stage.

The following six players have been confirmed for the Kalahari Conference: Almoustapha Hama Ide (Niger; Al Ahly Ly), Bathie Ndiaye (Senegal; RSSB Tigers), Benjamin Davies (Sierra Leone; Johannesburg Giants), Mohamed Niane (Senegal; Petro de Luanda), Mouhamadou Landoure (Mali; Dar City), and N’djj Ibourahima Coulibaly (Mali; Nairobi City Thunder).

The names of six other Elevate players will be announced later.

Officiating teams

*Referees look on during the game between the Petro de Luanda and ASC Ville de Dakar during the Sahara Conference Group on May 3, 2025, at Dakar Arena in Diamniadia, Senegal.*

All 42 games will be officiated by FIBA and G-League referees.

The following FIBA referees have been selected for the 2026 BAL season: Amr Abdalla, Mohamed Ibrahim Wael and Aya Khaled Ahmed (Egypt), Tonton Kalume Banza (DR Congo), Asmae Benkhadra and Imad Driouach (Morocco), Yann Davidson (Madagascar), Claudio Eiuba (Angola), Didier Gaga and Jean Sauveur Ruhamiriza (Rwanda), Jacques Silver Houngbedji (Benin), Haytham Ihaqaf (Libya), Hassane Kamate (Cote d 'Ivoire), Mahamadou Diallo (Mali), Arnold Moseya and Natasha Onono (South Africa), Dorothy Okatch (Botswana), Omondi Otieno (Kenya), Mbaye Seye (Senegal), Oumar Sy (Mauritania), Amir Taboubi (Tunisia) and Imene Tahmi (Algeria).

The following G-League referees have been nominated for the 2026 BAL Kalahari Conference: Genesis Perrymond, Ashley Birch, Quincy Smith, Charles Watson.

The following G-League referees have been nominated for the 2026 BAL Sahara Conference: Hortencia Sanchez-Carrizales, Nate Cearley, JP Primm and Julian Scott.

The following G-League referees have been nominated for the 2026 BAL Playoffs: Ian McClenny, Kastrine Evans, Gina Catanzariti and Jafar Kinsey.

Coach Gueye

*Head coach Mamadou Gueye of the A.S. Douanes talks with his team prior to the start of a game against the G.S. Pétroliers at Kigali Arena on May 17, 2021 in Kigali, Rwanda.*

Former Senegalese international Mamadou Gueye is set to enter his fourth season as head coach in the BAL.

Gueye, the 2023 BAL Coach of the Year, is now at the helm of debutants Dar City. He has coached more BAL games than any of the other five coaches in the Kalahari Conference.

Gueye previously coached AS Douanes in the 2021 BAL season, returning for another two seasons in 2023 and 2024.

Petro de Luanda

Of the 12 teams competing this season, Petro de Luanda of Angola — the 2024 BAL champions — are the only team to have participated in all five seasons, playing a total of 40 games and achieving a 27–13 win–loss record.