Basketball Africa League president Amadou Fall seeing fruits of league’s growth in Final Four

RABAT, Morocco – Basketball Africa League president Amadou Fall proudly smiled when he reflected on how the start of his league’s fifth “milestone season” on Saturday coincides with two of its esteemed alumni playing in the Final Four back in the United States.

​Duke freshman center Khaman Maluach of South Sudan is playing against Houston tonight in the national semifinals in San Antonio. Florida sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu of Nigeria will face Auburn in the other semifinal tonight. Both are BAL and NBA Africa Academy alums.

Meanwhile, the BAL’s fifth season opens up for the first time in Morocco with two games tonight and the next generation of budding African stars on the horizon.

​“Obviously, five years is a good milestone,” said Fall, the BAL’s lone president since its inception, on Friday morning before eating breakfast at his hotel. “And we are talking about a lot of full-circle [moments]. The seeds that were planted many years ago, that process is bearing fruit. And I’m sure this is not the first time we have had African players in the Final Four. But obviously, to have it in this moment the same day we were tipping off in Rabat is truly special…

“The stakes are higher. The stage is bigger. But players from Africa have been coming. And now that it’s at this scale is unprecedented.”​

​On Feb. 16, 2019, the NBA and International Basketball Federation announced the launching of the BAL, but the league didn’t start until 2021 after being pushed back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The BAL features 12 qualifying club teams that took part in FIBA competitions in Africa. The NBA recently announced plans to start a league in Europe at a to-be-determined date, but the BAL was the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America.

BAL regular-season games will take place this season in Rabat; Dakar, Senegal and Kigali, Rwanda, before the playoffs and championship game takes place in Pretoria, South Africa, for the first time. Morocco will host its first BAL games tonight with Mali Stade Malien facing the Nigeria River Hoopers, followed by Rabat’s own Fus De Rabat facing Egypt Al Itthad. The BAL will honor late Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and league ambassador/investor Dikembe Mutombo with a moment of silence before the first games in Rabat, Dakar and Kigali. A “DK55” patch will be displayed on each BAL player’s jersey in the African legend’s honor. The BAL logo also includes a “5” next to it this season to commemorate its fifth season.

“Five, this is a milestone season,” Fall said. “We are very proud. It’s not 20 years, but given where we come from and starting the league in the pandemic to be here now with something that we can touch and feel, it’s a brief history but it’s our history. It’s something to celebrate.”

The following is an exclusive Q&A with Fall talking about the BAL’s five-year anniversary and upcoming season, overcoming the Pandemic, the fruits of youth development for boys and girls, how the BAL could aid the NBA in its efforts to start a league in Europe, the future and much more.

​The BAL was originally expected to launch in 2020 ambitiously in six cities, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed it a year, which also added more time to streamline the original plan of the league. What do you recall about trying to launch the league during the pandemic?

Launching, announcing our teams’ jerseys in Chicago during [NBA] All-Star Weekend in mid-February [2020]. While I was in Chicago, I hadn’t heard of anything about the pandemic, COVID. I can remember when I went to Senegal [afterwards], we had this famous singer, Youssou N’Dour. So, I paid him a visit to say, ‘Hey we are starting this league.’ We were trying to enroll people of influence to drive awareness because they had no idea what we were talking about. Obviously, basketball is popular and this has never been done before. So, I was trying to just garner support and talk to opinion shapers in the country and preach. And he was the Minister of Tourism actually at the time of the government of Senegal. And he was the first one to tell me, ‘Hey, you guys should keep [the COVID-19 news] on your radar. I’m probably sure he heard about it in government briefings or whatever.

It was the first time I heard about it and it was right after the [NBA] All-Star Game. But you always think the glass is half full, and you don’t think that this thing would be shutting down the whole world. But lo and behold, during March of [2020] there were some [soccer] events in France and Europe [that were canceled]. But for us, once we heard about the first case, we just made quick decision. We felt like [BAL] was a huge deal and historic and you didn’t want a launch it in the middle of COVID.

We were very disappointed because you spend a whole year working and preparing, but at the same time you realize that the extra time would help on some of our assumptions and how we were going to do it. We were going play in six countries. And to be honest, in hindsight you’re thinking, ‘Well look, we would’ve done it.’ But at the same time, you’re sitting here and wondering, ‘Man, how am I going to launch in Senegal, go to Tunisia, go to Egypt, then go to Angola and Nigeria in a span of three months?’ Definitely, [the delay] helped.”

What are you most proud of about making it to five years?

Just to continue to build the momentum. This is the partnership with FIBA. Really to see that the whole confluence of energies and commitment from a world spectrum of all the people on the team we were able to build. I’m talking about the men and women who are driving and executing on a vision to grow that team, to see this team incredibly committed. And that’s the only way you can do something like this is for everybody working on this project to know this is bigger than basketball. You talk to everybody. Many of the folks have done big things and worked across the world in the diaspora. Everybody joining this has a sense of purpose in coming and being part of this, contributing and showcasing excellence.

I always talk about some of the comments we were getting the first year with the broadcast. I remember talking to a former colleague of mine who was watching the games in Argentina and was very proud. It was live on ESPN. And some others watched in other parts of the world. And some of the comments you get, ‘Look at this thing. It’s incredible and it’s hard to believe it’s happening in Africa.’

So, for me also if you talking about what we are proud of is that now it’s normalcy, right? And you’re going to be at the Prince Abdullah Arena tomorrow and whatever you’re going to see it happening right here in Africa. Same thing happened in Dakar Arena or in Kigali or Pretoria. So, I’m not saying that we’ve arrived. But at least for me to the generation of young folks across Africa and some the people that feel like you have to get the hell out of here to make anything out of your life, it shows that you can actually do it here. And the pathway now that’s been created went from grassroots all the way up to the league [NBA]. A young player can dream about playing pro on the continent without having to leave.

And then some would play in the league and be able to go and showcase [themselves] on a bigger global stage. You look at the NCAA Final Four this year, two young men who were part of the league and part of the NBA Academy who are playing for the team. For Duke, it’s Khaman Maluach. For Florida, it’s Rueben Chinyelu. So, you have two Final Four guys that played in the [BAL]…

So, everything that we thought we could do on the Continent — from way back when Basketball Without Borders started in 2003, to even before that, to the opening an office [in Africa] and to all the Africa games we’ve done here — all were meant to just inspire the whole continent. And you could see all those steps are what led to where we are today. We have two in the Final Four and all types of players throughout the NCAA. And we have UConn’s Jana El Alfy, she is from Egypt. She’s good and starting, too. At the NBA Academy, we have the girls’ program, too, which she was a part of.

Toronto Raptors rookie center Ulrich Chomche was the first former BAL and NBA Academy player that was drafted into the NBA as he was selected with the 57th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft. Chomche played in seven NBA games and for the G League Raptors 905 before his rookie season came to an end due to a MCL tear in his right knee. What did it mean to get your first BAL player drafted in Chomche?

It’s the first time an African [born] player gets drafted straight out of the Continent that didn’t go to an American prep school or college. It just goes to show you what can happen when you create that enabling environment and you provide opportunities. These young players came from all across Africa. Ulrich and Khaman came to the NBA Africa Academy at 14 years old and both were very skinny with very little basic basketball skills. But they had the will, the hunger to learn and obviously the physical raw tools. Now, if you bring in the expertise and teach them and create the environment, build a gym and have them basically in an environment that’s like any prep school they could have gone to in the U.S. … they got a chance to travel around the world and compete against the talent in their age group.

They have been everywhere. Played in tournaments in Australia, in Europe, all across America to kind of measure themselves and build confidence. So, just for me getting that drafted player just gave a validation of the premise of what you can create with the environment and the talent we have across Africa. Imagine if you could have these academies in multiple geographic regions across ‘The Continent.’ For every Khaman and Ulrich, you have no idea how many were unnoticed. And if you go back to look at the stories of Hakeem (Olajuwon) and Dikembe and how they started, it wasn’t really a clear pathway to say, ‘Here is a 12, 14, 15-year-old, we think he has potential. Let’s intentionally put him on a path to get to the NBA. That didn’t exist, right?

These guys almost lucked out. And Dikembe went to Georgetown on [an academic] scholarship. Hakeem was a goalie with handball. And even how [Olajuwon] choose his school, showing up at the airport and someone helped him go to where the weather was warmer [in Houston] and he becomes the No. 1 overall draft pick of ’84. Both of them have Hall of Fame careers. Just think about how many others are out there from the Central African Republic or Chad. These are countries that people are not thinking about, but they have incredible athletic talent. So, for us, in creating the NBA Academy, this is where the motivation comes from. Ulrich getting [drafted] straight out of [BAL] confirms that belief that if you create that environment, then talent emerges.

The BAL added Morocco and moved the playoffs and championship game from Rwanda to South Africa. Can you talk about the reason for the changes?

In the original version, Morocco was one of the places where we were going to play. We were going to launch in Dakar, Senegal. We were going to Tunisia, Cairo, Morocco. And we were going to Rwanda, Angola and then to Lagos, Nigeria. I have no idea how we would’ve done that, but we would’ve done it. In some ways, the pandemic allowed us to reset. So, obviously, the first year — 2021, the Bubble — that’s what it was.

And we were very grateful that we had a full season in three weeks and crowned a champion in (Egypt) Zamalak. And then the second year we went to two cities playing in Dakar and then in Cairo before we for went for the finals in Kigali. We did that again in Season 3 and Season 4 last year. The goal is to really have as big a footprint as we can be in different countries, different markets to bring that experience to more fans.

So, South Africa was a no-brainer when we decided to add it. That’s where a lot of our initiatives have started from way back. Our late [NBA] commissioner David Stern took a trip to Africa in ’93 and launched Basketball Without Borders there. In 2003, we opened the first office. The first [NBA Africa] games we played there in 2015, 2017 and 2018. For us that was a no-brainer and this is why we saw incredible turnout and interest.

But we always felt really good about the opportunity to have it in Morocco. The country is very welcoming and open. Their basketball league has been in existence for forever. So, this is why we wanted to come here and we’ll see what happens for next season.”

Do you think the BAL gives the NBA a blueprint to develop what will one day be NBA Europe?

This was a model. The NBA partnering with FIBA and the NBA deciding to operate a professional basketball league outside of North America, choosing to come and do in Africa first… Obviously, a lot of the parameters and regions were in place. You have incredible amount of talent and also you have people who are driven and passionate and committed that could come and lead the charges. But the key was that partnership with FIBA, really being able to get on the same page to understand that we have a common goal of growing the game at the highest level.

So, for this partnership, which we’ve already started with programs like Basketball Our Borders in 2003, we did it with FIBA. So, there’s that history and we coupled it with talent and the fact that also there was a great deal of desire for something like this. It’s almost like you are in a place where everything has to be built. So, being able to operate with strong success and interest, I’m pretty sure inspired or had an impact on the fact that it’s possible to partner not only in Europe but potentially in other parts of the world to fulfill this common vision to have basketball played at the highest level. Having professional leagues that have an NBA blueprint and doing it with FIBA, directly or indirectly, I’m pretty sure that it has to have weighed in. But nobody’s told me this.