Nairobi City Thunder sign Nigerian-American forward for BAL
Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 11.03.26. | 18:03
The 28-year-old joins from Kosovo's KB Bashkimi
Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) champions Nairobi City Thunder have added to their arsenal ahead of a second appearance at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) by acquiring the services of American-Nigerian power forward, Josh Nzeakor.
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The 6’8 Nzeakor was unveiled by Thunder on Tuesday, 10 March, just days ahead of the team’s participation at the BAL Kalahari Conference group phase scheduled to take place from Friday, 27 March to Sunday, 5 April in Pretoria, South Africa.
Nzeakor, who Thunder referred to his play as “quick, explosive and entertaining”, joins from Kosovan Superliga KB Bashkimi, and is set to feature once more in the African scene, having played for both Mali’s AS Police and Guinea’s SLAC in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
The 28-year-old adds to Thunder’s roster for this year’s competition, which also sees the returns of Lance Thomas and Albert Odero.
Thomas rejoins the two-time Kenyan champions after featuring during their run in the Elite 16 qualifiers, while Odero crosses over from Rwandan side Tigers Basketball Club.
Other players confirmed in the BAL roster include: Garang Ding, Derrick Ogechi, Eugene Adera, Ariel Okall, Bramwel Muchina, Faheem Juma, and Powell Hargos.
Thunder, who are off to an unbeaten start in the domestic league, face Johannesburg Giants, APR, Petro de Luanda, Al Ahly Libya and Dar City in the Kalahari Conference, and will need to be in the top eight teams from both their conference and the Sahara Conference, to book their place in the Playoffs and Finals at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda from Friday, 22 May to Sunday, 31 May.
As part of the team’s preparations, Thunder intends to play a couple of friendlies dubbed ‘Thunder Nights’ on 12 and 19 March, even as league fixtures against KPA and UON Terror await.