African players, coaches and referees to participate in NBA 2K25 Summer League

Twenty-five basketball coaches from 15 African countries have been selected to participate in the NBA 2K25 Summer League which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from July 12 -22, 2024.

The selected coaches form part of the Africa Coaches Program, which builds on NBA Africa’s and Basketball Africa League’s (BAL) commitment to building capacity and expertise of coaches from across the continent, improving the quality of the on-court product, and contributing to the continued growth of basketball on the continent. Eight of the coaches represent teams that have participated in the BAL.

Please see below for some of the notable storylines, followed by the full roster of the African coaches, players, and referees who will take part in the Summer League.

African Coaches Program – building continuity

Six teams that took part in the 2024 BAL season will have at least one coach participating – Al Ahly (Egypt), Bangui Sporting Club (Central Africa Republic) City Oilers (Uganda), FUS de Rabat (Morocco), Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria), and US Monastir (Tunisia).

Sixteen of the 24 coaches will take part in the Africa Coaches Program for the first time.
Rivers Hoopers head coach Ogoh Odaudu was named 2024 BAL Coach of the Year and led his team to a third-place finish this season. Rivers Hoopers’ head coach since 2009, Odaudu coached the team to five Nigerian Premier League titles. Since 2019, Odaudu has been a member of the coaching staff on the Nigerian national team.

Two coaches – Francois Enyegue (Cameroon; San Antonio Spurs) and Emmanuel Mavomo (Democratic Republic of the Congo; Milwaukee Bucks) – return to the Summer League for a third consecutive year. Last year, they coached with the Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz, respectively. Enyegue is currently the head coach of Bangui Sporting Club (Central Africa Republic) and served as head coach of Team Africa & Middle East Girls at the Jr. NBA Global Championship in 2018. Mavomo is NBA G League’s Austin Spurs assistant coach and served as an assistant coach of Paris Basketball and BC Espoir Fukash during the 2022 BAL season.

Empowering the next generation

Three players with BAL experience who have decided to take up a career in coaching will be part of this year’s program. John Wilkins (Rivers Hoopers), Mohamed Gaddour (US Monastir), and Radouane Slimane (US Monastir) will respectively join the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, and Miami Heat.

NBA Academy Africa well-represented

NBA Academy Africa players development coaches Goitsemang Ditsheko (South Africa) and Karim Nesba (Morocco) will coach with the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings respectively. Based at the NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal since 2022, Ditsheko is part of the academy coaching staff who worked with NBA Academy Africa’s first NBA draftee, Cameroon’s Ulrich Chomche, selected with the number 57 overall by the Memphis Grizzlier and traded to the Toronto Raptors in the 2024 NBA Draft.

While enrolled at NBA Academy Africa, Chomche competed in the BAL as part of the BAL Elevate program, representing Rwanda Energy Group Basketball (REGBBC) in 2023 and Cameroon’s Forces Armées et Police (FAP) in 2022.

Karim Nesba is a former AS Salé and Morocco National Team player. He coached the Uganda City Oilers in the 2024 BAL season and the BAL Select Team at Quai 54 this summer. NBA Academy Africa Alumni Ibou Badji (Senegal) and Babacar Sané (Senegal) will be playing with the Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz respectively. Badji who signed a two-way contract with Portland Trail Blazers last season, played 22 games in the 2023-24 NBA season. Sané former BAL Elevate player has played with the G League Ignite since 2022.

Female participants

For the first time, three female coaches will participate in the Africa Coaches Program – Sofia Bey (Morocco; Sacramento Kings), Aliaa Mahmoud Mohamed (Egypt; Washington Wizards), Ruth Bibeyi (Gabon; Los Angeles Lakers). They join the Africa Coaches Program as part of NBA Africa’s and the BAL’s efforts to provide more opportunities for women in basketball.

Sofia Bey (Morocco, Sacramento Kings) is the head coach of Wydad Athletic in Morocco. Bey participated 2022 FIBA Africa Regional Youth Camp and was selected for the FIBA Young Coach program in 2015.
Ruth Bibeyi (Gabon; Los Angeles Lakers) was the head coach of Espoir Basket Club (Gabon) which participated in Road to the BAL 2023. Aliaa Mahmoud (Egypt, Washington Wizards) was the assistant coach of FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2023.

Please see below for the complete list of African coaches participating in the NBA 2K25 Summer League and the NBA teams coaching staff they have joined.

BAL Season 4 players

Five players who played in the 2024 BAL season are set to feature in this year’s Summer League: Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (South Sudan; Sacramento Kings), Samkelo Cele (South Africa; New York Knicks), Obadiah Noel (USA; New York Knicks) Devine Eke (Nigeria, Milwaukee Bucks), and Makhtar Gueye (Senegal; Atlanta Hawks).

Lual-Acuil Jr. averaged 21.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks during the last BAL season, helping Al Ahly Ly (Libya) to the 2024 BAL Finals. Lual-Acuil Jr. won the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy as the 2024 BAL Most Valuable Player and the Dikembe Mutombo Trophy as the Defensive Player of the Year. Lual-Acuil Jr. also emerged as the 2024 BAL Scoring Champion and was named to the 2024 All-BAL First Team and the All-BAL Defensive Team.

Cele averaged 20.2 points per game and finished second in scoring in the league. He led South Africa’s Cape Town Tigers to the semifinals and was named to both the 2024 All-BAL First Team and All-Defensive Team.

Obadiah averaged 19.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game with Armée Patriotique Rwandaise basketball (APR; Rwanda) in the Sahara Conference last season.

Eke registered 16.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, leading Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers to third place in the last BAL season.

Gueye represented Burundi’s Dynamo Basketball Club in the inaugural Kalahari Conference last season.
Cele and Gueye were part of the BAL Select team that featured at the 2024 Quai 54 Streetball Tournament, the world’s biggest streetball tournament in Paris, France, last month.

Rosters are subject to change.

Referees with BAL Experience

Five referees who officiated in the 2024 BAL season will also join the program, including Annie Joyce Muchenu (Zimbabwe). Muchenu became a FIBA international referee in September 2008 and was appointed to officiate at the FIBA Women’s Champions Cup in Nairobi, Kenya the same year.

She has since officiated at major competitions on the African continent including junior and senior tournaments but has also officiated at two All Africa Games (2011 and 2015), three FIBA U-17 World Cups, two FIBA U-19 World Cups, pre-Olympic Qualifiers and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, and the BAL since the beginning of the competition.

Please see below the complete list of African referees: