2025 REVIEW: Nairobi City Thunder continue to roar, but 2026 BAL challenge looms

For the second year in a row, Nairobi City Thunder carried the Kenyan basketball scene on its shoulders, from going unbeaten for their second national title to clinching their ticket to Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2026.

Under the tutelage of Bradley Ibs, the two-time Kenyan Basketball Federation (KBF) champions went back-to-back, dominating the regular season and playoffs to defeat Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in the playoff final.

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The club's influence on the national league has been felt for the last two seasons, if not for anything else, for the influx of fans at Nyayo Gymnasium whenever Ibs' men are in action.

On the continental stage, Thunder, who had a bye to the Road to BAL 2026 Elite 16 as Nairobi played host to the final qualifying stage to the premier African men's club competition, held their own to win the East Division showpiece, qualifying alongside South Africa's Johannesburg Giants.

In front of a fully-packed 5000-seater Kasarani Indoor Gymnasium in Nairobi, Thunder beat Mozambique's Ferroviario da Beira 109-70 in the semis to secure their place in next year's BAL. They went on to beat Giants 94-84 to head to the continental competition top of the Division.

The feat saw Ibs clinch the Sports Journalist Association of Kenya's (SJAK) November Coach of the Month Award.

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Coach Ibs says his side has 'unfinished business' in the African competition, and rightly so. Last year, Thunder became the first Kenyan team to qualify for BAL, the same year they lifted the national league title for the first time and made their debut in the Road to the BAL Group Phase, finishing second, before their Elite 16 win in Nairobi.

Placed in the Nile Conference played at the BK Arena, in Kigali, from 17 to 25 May 2025, they had a tough debut, winning only one of their six matches against South Africa’s MBB.

"When we started this Elite 16 journey, we had the message of unfinished business in BAL since we didn't play so well in the 2025 edition, and it was our mission to get back and represent ourselves better.

We are happy to get the ticket, but this is just the first step for us," coach Ibs admitted after the side's qualification, but kept his recruitment cards close to his chest.

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For this year's Elite 16, Ibs had enlisted former BAL champion Ater Majok, Chase Adams, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2025 BAL Combine, American Power Forward Lance Thomas and late entrant David Deng Kongor Deng, who joined hours before tip-off following the injury of Garang Diing. Also joining the squad was KPA's Bramwel Muchina.

The Kenyan representatives will have four months to prepare for their BAL return, should the 2026 BAL season follow the previous season's calendar, where the Conferences are played in May, while the Playoff finals are held in June.

On the local scene, Thunder go to battle when the 2026 season tips off, likely without the services of MVP Albert Odero, who has since signed with Rwandese giants Tigers BBC on a one-year contract.

The diminutive forward has been key for Ibs' men, and it remains to be seen how the champions make up for his absence and influence.