MBB’s Pieter Prinsloo attempts to defend Al Ahly Tripoli’s Naseim Badrush layup in their Basketball Africa League Nile Conference game at the BK Arena in Kigali last month. Johannesburg club MBB could not qualify for this the playoffs that start in Pretoria this week.
Image: Getty Imahes/BAL

Shortlisting players who can make a difference in the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs is anything but easy, given their potential effect on their teams in the finals in Pretoria.

The BAL playoffs take place from Friday to June 14 at the SunBet Arena.

Here are the top 20 players to watch at the 2025 BAL playoffs:

The former Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks NBA player made his BAL debut in style during the Nile Conference in Kigali earlier this month, averaging 18.5 points and five assists per game. Adams, the winner and MVP of the 2022 Australian League with the Sydney Kings, was one of the reasons the Libyan champions had a perfect 6-0 record in the regular season.

Sadi, who made his BAL debut in 2021 playing for the Senegalese team AS Douanes, is known for his warrior spirit on both ends of the floor. Al Ahli Tripoli head coach Fouad Abou Chacra named him the team’s MVP, citing not only his team-high 135 efficiency rating and 14.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, but also his never-die attitude.

🔥🏀 History in the making!
1️⃣2️⃣ African teams. 6️⃣ newcomers. 1️⃣ ultimate champion.
BAL Season 5 tips off April 5 in Morocco, who’s bringing home the crown? 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/eOe5ufULmJ

— Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) February 28, 2025

King, one of three former NBA players in the current BAL season along with George Adams and Chasson Randle, displayed differentiated shooting ability during the Kalahari Conference. He is disciplined defensively, but it’s on the offensive end that he causes the most damage to opponents. He averaged 16 points in Al Ittihad’s 6-0 regular season run.

We learnt that most of US Monastir’s offensive plays involved Hardy Jnr in some way, contributing enormously to their 4-2 record in the Sahara Conference. He registered the highest efficiency rating of 107, leading the Tunisian champions with 17.3 points and five assists per game. Patrick Jnr is a decent three-point shooter who sinks three three-pointers per game.

Olisemeka's strongest asset is rebounding, so it came as no surprise that he had 68 rebounds in six games, the highest in the BAL regular season. The Nigerian power forward set a season record with 17 rebounds in a game and became the only player to finish with eight offensive rebounds in the 94—77 loss to Al Ittihad Alexandria on April 12 in Rabat, Morocco.

The 2018 EuroLeague champion with Real Madrid made his debut with APR, averaging 16 points and 3.3 assists per game. Randle, who had short stints with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks, had the third-highest three-point shooting percentage in the regular season at 48.8%.

Before shooting 7-for-8 and scoring 16 points in Petro de Luanda's 103-74 win over Kriol Star, the former G-League champion with the Toronto 905 became the second player this season — after Al Ittihad’s Youssef Aboushousha's 6-for-6 — to hit all five of his shots and finish with 11 points in Petro's 65-64 loss to ASC Ville de Dakar.

Moreira, A 2009 Basketball Without Border Africa camper, is the only player to have won titles in the G-League, the BAL, and the FIBA Champions League.

Omot made his mark in the BAL by leading the Egyptian giants Al Ahly SC to the 2023 title. In the process, he took home the season MVP award. A regular member of the South Sudanese national team, Omot competed in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, averaging 17 points per game. He also wore the Bright Stars uniform at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in the Philippines.

Mahmoud, who won the 2021 BAL with Zamalek, is known for his shot-blocking and rebounding abilities. These abilities earned him the 2022 BAL Defensive Player of the Year Award. He is a regular member of the Egyptian national team and helped his country finish second at the 2013 AfroBasket when he was 17. He then embarked on a US college basketball career at the University of Louisville.

Abada just joined the Moroccan champions for the BAL playoffs after helping Club Africain win the 2025 Tunisian league title earlier this month. He made headlines when he was named to the 2021 BAL First Team in a tournament that helped US Monastir secure second place. Abada is in his third BAL season and is a two-time FIBA AfroBasket champion with Tunisia (2017 and 2021).

Earlier this month Boissy put on a spectacular display in the Nile Conference. The Senegalese guard came off the bench for all six of Al Ahli Tripoli’s games, yet he still finished with a regular season high of 23.8 points per game.

In his debut with the Libyan champions, Boissy shot 8-for-13 from deep, finishing just short of the BAL record set by Will Perry, who shot 9-for-14 and led Ferroviario da Beira to a 102-92 win over SLAC on April 30, 2023.

Vinales is a typical point guard who creates shooting opportunities for his teammates and demonstrates defensive leadership. The American guard had the second-highest efficiency on Al Ittihad Alexandria, behind only Majok Deng, while averaging 12 points and 5.3 assists per game.

In his second BAL season, after playing for AS Douanes in 2024, Madut played a huge role in helping the Rivers Hoopers finish with the second-best record (4—2) in the 2025 Kalahari Conference in Rabat in April.

Madut excelled on both ends of the floor, averaging 17.8 points and 7.7 rebounds, and registering the third-highest efficiency rating (129) in the regular season. Madut also had the highest three-point shooting percentage (58.6%).

Acuil had a nearly perfect BAL debut last season. He was named the league’s MVP and Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the All-BAL First Team. However, his Al Ahly team lost to Petro de Luanda in the 2025 BAL Final. Acuil is a member of the South Sudanese national team.

Deng was a highly productive substitute; that’s the only way to describe his impact on Al Ittihad Alexandria’s rotation. The 2024 Paris Olympian from South Sudan recorded the highest efficiency (93) for the Egyptian giants, contributing 14.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Deng was on the Al Ahly Ly team that came in second last year.

Imagine a relatively short player with unparalleled jumping ability. Now picture a player who can shoot from every corner of the floor. That player is Jonathan Jordan. A 2017 NBA G-League champion with the Toronto 905, he has been one of FUS Rabat’s most productive players, averaging 13 points and five assists per game.

Throughout the Sahara Conference, where the Creoles finished 3-3, Almeida emerged as Kriol Star’s do-it-all and go-to guy. A regular member of the Cape Verdean national team, Almeida recorded the sixth-highest efficiency rating (116) in the regular season, averaging 17.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He had four double-doubles in six games.

During the Nile Conference, Diarra was APR’s most impactful player, averaging 19.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.5 blocks per game. He had the fifth-highest efficiency rating (118) in the regular season. He set a BAL record with eight blocks in APR’s 77-74 win over the Nairobi City Thunder, surpassing the previous record of seven set by Anas Mahmoud and Khaman Maluach in the 2022 and 2024 seasons, respectively.

Lahyani is colloquially known as “Air Tunisia” because of his ability to easily dunk and jump. He recorded the second-highest efficiency (101) for US Monastir while averaging nine points and nine rebounds at the Sahara Conference in Dakar last month. A regular member of the Tunisian national team, Lahyani helped his country win the 2017 FIBA AfroBasket tournament.

Gardner is a big man who can shoot from deep, which is one of the attributes that makes him a menace to opponents. He had the highest efficiency rating (96) for Petro de Luanda in the Sahara Conference in Dakar, where the reigning BAL champions finished 3—3. He contributed 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Gardner, who is left-handed, is in his second BAL season, having played for Al Ahly SC last season. He played for Egypt at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and played two seasons in the NBA G League, averaging six points per game.

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