The Basketball Africa League (BAL) has named 1986 NBA champion and Olympian Sam Vincent Camp Director for the 2025 BAL Combine to be held from Friday, Jan. 10 – Sunday, Jan. 12 in Rabat, Morocco.
The three-day scouting event, which will be held at the Ibn Yassine Omnisports Hall, will feature more than 30 aspiring players from Africa, Europe, the U.S. and around the world. Coaches who took part in the Africa Coaches Program at the NBA 2K25 Summer League last July in Las Vegas will be part of Vincent’s coaching staff.
“We are thrilled to have Sam Vincent join us as BAL Combine Camp Director ahead of our pivotal BAL milestone fifth season,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall. “Sam has been an active and integral part of our basketball development efforts in Africa, including the inaugural 2003 Africa 100 Camp (Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa Camp in South Africa. For many years, Sam has worked tirelessly as a coach and mentor, supporting the growth of the African basketball ecosystem. His experience at the highest levels as a professional player, National Team Head Coach, and NBA Head Coach will be invaluable assets for Combine players, coaches, and our league.”
During his seven-year NBA career, Vincent played for the Boston Celtics, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic. In 1992, Vincent embraced a career in coaching, which has seen him coach a number of national teams in Africa, Asia, and Europe to impressive results. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, he coached Nigeria’s women’s national team, which beat South Korea for the first victory by an African nation in an Olympic women’s basketball competition. Two years later, Vincent coached Nigeria’s men’s national team to the second round of the 2006 FIBA World Championship.
The BAL’s milestone fifth season will tip off on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco and culminate with the 2025 BAL Finals on Saturday, June 14 at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, marking the first BAL games in Morocco and the first time the BAL Finals will be held in South Africa. The 2025 BAL season will feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing 48 games in Rabat; Dakar, Senegal; Kigali, Rwanda; and Pretoria.
The 12 teams will once again be divided into three conferences of four teams each. Each conference will play a 12-game group phase during which each team will face the other three teams in its conference twice.
The Kalahari Conference group phase will take place from April 5 – Sunday, April 13 in Rabat.
The Sahara Conference group phase will take place from Saturday, April 26 – Sunday, May 4 at the Dakar Arena in Senegal.
The Nile Conference group phase will take place from Saturday, May 17 – Sunday, May 25 at BK Arena in Kigali.
Eight teams from across the three conferences will qualify for the Playoffs in Pretoria, which will tip off on Friday, June 6 and culminate with the 2025 BAL Finals on Saturday, June 14.
