Full Court Press Afrobasket 2025 Power Rankings

After a four-year wait, Afrobasket 2025 is upon us and will take place from 12-24 August in Angola. The continent’s premier basketball jamboree is returning to the Southern African nation, which last hosted the event in 2007. Although Tunisia is looking to secure a three-peat, after winning the 2017 and 2021 editions, this year’s contest is poised to be the most competitive in the tournament’s illustrious history. 

1. South Sudan: Despite being African basketball’s new kid on the block, the Bright Stars have quickly asserted itself as the continent’s foremost outfit, qualifying for the 2023 FIBA World Cup and subsequently the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where in the run-up, they almost pulled off an upset victory against eventual gold medallists the United States. Nevertheless, South Sudan will be without many of the stars who have been central to this rise to prominence, will be absent from Angola, including Carlik Jones, J.T Thor, Marial Shayok, Sunday Dech, and Kaman Maluach, who in June was selected 10th by the Phoenix Suns in the June NBA draft, as well as longstanding coach Royal Ivey. Nevertheless, South Sudan, which is ranked 23rd globally – the highest in Africa – has one of the deepest arsenals of talent on the continent and can still rely on former Los Angeles Lakers product Weynen Gabriel, currently playing for Bayern Munich, Nuni Omot, Majok Deng, and Peter Jok, who all featured at the Olympics. On the bench, federation president and former NBA All-Star Luol Deng will take charge of the X’s and O’s and hope to spearhead the team to its first continental trophy.

• Cote d’Ivoire: Les Elephants have quietly fostered a reputation over the past 15 years as one of Africa’s best-performing national teams, with the runners-up of the previous Afrobasket having participated in the 2010, 2019, and 2023 FIBA World Cups. Cote d’Ivoire – who finished 6-0 during Afrobasket qualifiers- have brought back veterans who helped them obtain silverware in 2021, including Matt Costello, Vafessa Fofana, and Souley Diabate, and will also look to younger players like Maxience Dadiet, Assemian Moulare, and Sidney Hawmond to bolster the country’s chances of obtaining their first Afrobasket victory since 1985. The return of Spanish coach Miguel Hoyo Ramos and the addition of Ivorian legend Stephane Konate as an assistant will bolster their chances.

• Senegal: The Teranga Lions have always been an Afrobasket favourites, however, despite producing some of the continent’s most talented players, Senegal have failed to win the competition since lifting the trophy at home in 1997. Despite finishing 6-0 during qualifiers, the road to gold will be more challenging, in the absence of the frontcourt duo of former Boston Celtics centre Tacko Fall and Youssoupha Ndoye, who have both been ruled out with injuries. Although Senegal has historically produced top-class big men – including current coach DeSagana Diop – they will look to the backcourt duo of reigning Basketball Africa League MVP with Ah Ahli Tripoli, Jean-Jacques Boissy and Branco Badio to will them to a gold medal. 

• Cameroon: Over the last decade, Cameroon has produced an array of top-tier NBA talent and Europe-based talent; however, the Indomitable Lions have been unable to translate this continental success, a scenario best manifested by its last-place finish at Afrobasket 2021. However, since former UCLA product and national team player Alfred Aboya took over the reins of the team in 2022, there has been a quiet resurgence, with Cameroon notably winning the Olympic pre-qualifying tournament in Lagos in 2023. One of Cameroon’s major issues has been its inability to secure its best players, but the presence of New Orleans Pelicans second-year prospect Yves Missi is the boost Cameroon needs to potentially match or surpass its previous best outing, when it finished second in the 2007 tournament that was held in Angola.  Other players to watch out for are the French LNB duo of Williams Narrace, and Jeremiah Hill.

• Nigeria: The D’Tigers are a far cry from the team that dominated the continental scene and was a regular at international tournaments during the 2010s. Federation governance shortcomings have significantly contributed to this scenario and almost led to the Afrobasket 2015 champions not qualifying for the tournament. Nevertheless, Nigeria is a team that performs best when its backs are against the wall, and current Houston Rockets combo guard Josh Okogie will spearhead efforts to remind the continent that the D’Tigers are still a force to be reckoned with. Nigeria has a solid supporting cast that includes 2025 BAL champion Caleb Agaba and Ike Nwamu, who was on the 2020 Olympic squad. Stanley Okoye, a holdover from the 2015 squad, will provide a veteran presence for a team that has the potential to make an impact in Angola.

• Angola: For almost 30 years, Angola was the undisputed juggernaut of African basketball; however, the tides have turned, and the Pelancas Negras are currently one amongst a pack of increasingly competitive African countries. Nevertheless, the new generation of players led by the overseas-based trio of Bruno Fernando, Silvio de Sousa, and Gerson Lukeny, alongside Petro de Luanda star Abou Gakou, has the potential to propel Angola to its first Afrobasket win since 2013. Angola’s strong squad will be backed by home-court advantage, which has made them one of the toughest away opponents to play against on the continent.

• Cape Verde: The Blue Sharks are a solid team that consistently punches above its weight, an assertion exemplified by its fourth-place finish at the Afrobasket 2021. Boasting a high-performing trio of Real Madrid stalwart Walter “Edy” Tavares, as well as Ivan and Joel Almeida, who recently played for the country’s BAL representative Kriol Star, Cape Verde has a fighting chance to make it to the knockout stages. Their experience and up-tempo style of basketball could potentially give them an edge and lead them to another surprise Afrobasket performance.

• Egypt: This team is certainly an enigma of the continental basketball landscape because, despite possessing one of the continent’s most competitive leagues, featuring clubs such as Al Ahly, Al-Ittihad, and Zamalek, this has failed to translate into national team success. Regardless, with University of Oregon player Ehab Amin running the show, alongside Anas Mahmoud – widely regarded as one of the continent’s best big men – as well as Patrick Gardner and Assem Marei, who both had impressive BAL 2025 seasons, Egypt has a chance to improve on its 11th-place finish at Afrobasket 2025.