Kenyan basketball star credits hometown athletes for inspiring journey to world stage

Nairobi City Thunder captain Tylor Ongwae says observing Kenyan marathon runners inspired him in his different sporting journey of being a basketballer.

Ongwae, 33, was born in Kisii but grew up in Eldoret, a town most synonymous with running.

Speaking to ESPN on the sidelines of the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) - Nile Conference, Ongwae said he realised from a young age that he was “never going to be a running champion” himself, but still took so much from the greats in Kenya’s fifth-biggest city in forging a tremendous hooping career.

"We used to wake up at maybe five in the morning and go to school, and you could see a lot of people running early in the morning,” Ongwae said.

“When you are young and you see such dedication, you get inspired. [You think]: 'Why not me?

The funny thing is: when I was young, I used to run long-distance. I remember where I used to stay, there were a lot of marathon runners, so maybe early in the morning or late in the evening, they would run.

"I would go and try to run with them and - oh my goodness - I would not even be close to them. They were very, very far. They would even lap us sometimes, but it inspired me - just seeing them working hard and how hard it was."

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Despite going undrafted in the NBA in 2025, Ongwae, whose role model is former international Peter Kiganya, has gone on to high heights in his professional career, Ranger College playing for clubs based in Italy, Sweden, New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark, Côte d'Ivoire and Germany, before coming back home to Thunder.

Even at Thunder, his hometown proves to be of more significance.

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"I think the best talent in Kenya - even in the early 2000s - most of them have come from Eldoret,” the Kenya Morans player said.

“If you look at the Nairobi City Thunder, we have three good players who come from Eldoret.

I think Eldoret is big-time - that's where you can find really good players. At a young age, we were playing against older guys, so that toughened us up and made us better.”

Alongside Ongwae, Garang Diing and Eugene Adera are the other Thunder players whose origin traces back to Eldoret.

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"I've known [Diing and Adera] since they were young - probably since they were five or six years old,” Ongwae said.

“I'm a little bit older, but we would actually practice on the same outdoor court. While I was practicing, I would see them on the side, doing ball-handling and all that. With time, I think they grew up and liked the game."

Thunder, in the BAL, find themselves in a tight spot, having lost all their three opening matches.

“What it will take to turn this thing around is just commitment and effort,” the skipper said.

“Like the coaches have said, you have to give 100% - especially defensively.

We have a lot of athletic guys in our team, but we've got to be in the passing lanes and be extremely physical. That would give us a chance to turn this around."

His team gets back onto the court on Thursday 22 May against Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli at Rwanda's BK Arena (1700 EAT).