Nairobi City Thunder test
Nairobi City Thunder’s return to the prestigious Basketball Africa League (BAL) for their second appearance comes on the back of yet another triumphant unbeaten local top league season.
Their first appearance at BAL last year revealed the gulf in class between the best of Kenyan basketball and the rest of the continent.
Still, Nairobi City Thunder demonstrated that with more effort they can match the continent’s best. The inability to close games in narrow losses against APR Rwanda and South Africa’s MBB showed the difference between them and the top teams on the continent.
This time, the Nairobi City Thunder outing in Pretoria during BAL 2026 should be informed by their experience in the last appearance. Advancing beyond the group stages at BAL 2026 will serve as sufficient evidence that Thunder’s dominance of the local basketball is not a case of the proverbial big fish in a small pond.
As the backbone of the Kenya Morans, the country’s national basketball team, Thunder’s performance will also measure the country’s ability to compete at national team continental competitions like AfroBasket and the Fiba Basketball World Cup. Beyond aiming to progress further than they did last time, Thunder should also use the competition to prepare for the future. The young players in the squad should prove they have what it takes to keep the team competitive when veterans like Ariel Okall (36) and Tylor Ongwae (34) call it a day.
As Thunder battle on the court at BAL 2026, they should do so with Kenyan basketball stakeholders taking notes on what needs to be done to have more teams playing at that level and the level of facilities that can make Kenya host the competition in the near future.
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