The world of basketball provided many fun moments for both the players, experts, and fans alike in the year 2024.
A new champion was crowned in the world’s foremost basketball league, the NBA, as well as the Basketball Africa League, in its historic fourth season.
The year’s brilliance reached its peak at the Paris Olympic Games, where the sport drew attention from millions of spectators around the world, particularly because of the performance of Nigeria’s D’Tigress, who shook the status quo at the Games.
As the year wind down, Afrosport highlights some of the key moments in basketball in 2024 as well as the major figures that shaped the happenings around the sport.
The brilliant D’Tigress & the wonders of the Paris 2024 Olympics
Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, the D’Tigress, entered the Paris Olympics as the 12th-best team and one of the lowest-ranked sides in the competition.
The D’Tigress, however, did not let their ranking deter them from putting on a show as they stunned Australia in their opening game to record their first win at the Olympics in two decades.
The Nigerians fell to hosts France in their second game but bounced back fearlessly with another win against Canada to progress to the quarterfinals for the first time ever.
The D’Tigress became the first African team—male or female—to make it to the last eight at an Olympic basketball tournament, and despite losing to eventual goal medallists, the United States, in the knockout phase, they received huge applause and recognition from both their peers, experts and the bubbly crowd inside the Bercy Arena.
Head coach Rena Wakama was named best women’s coach at the Olympics, while star guard Ezinne Kalu was named to the All-Tournament Second Team, having led the D’Tigress in scoring at the Olympics.
Over in the men’s category, the United States won their 17th Olympic gold medal after overcoming France in the final.
Basketball fans, who were yet to witness the brilliance of Stephen Curry, were provided the opportunity to watch him on the biggest stage as his late flurry helped put some distance between the USA and France in a final that clearly wasn’t lacking superstars.
LeBron James, one of Team USA’s flagbearers, moved up several statistical rankings as he became the all-time steals leader at the Olympics (44) and the first player to record multiple triple-doubles at the Games (2), adding to the feat he achieved 12 years ago.
The men’s record for the most gold medals at the Olympics now belongs to Kevin Durant, who took home his fourth gold medal and rose up the ranks to second on the all-time three-pointers list.
The action-packed NBA and the Boston Celtics’ dominance
The NBA served up exciting games in the year with the 2023-24 season, which commenced in October 2023.
French phenom Wembanyama was voted the Rookie of the Year after enjoying a bright start to life in the NBA, and Serbian centre Nikola Jokic joined exclusive company with his third Most Valuable Player (MVP) award win.
The Boston Celtics dominated the 82-game regular season, finishing as the best-ranked team league-wide to put the other 15 teams in the postseason on notice.
Boston tore through the Eastern Conference in the playoffs, beating the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Indiana Pacers to emerge as the best team in the conference.
They were faced with a tough matchup against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, with many expecting an evenly-fought contest, but the Celtics made light work of the Western Conference champions, closing the series 4-1 to win a record 18th NBA title and their first since 2008.
Boston’s forward Jaylen Brown enjoyed a trophy-laden year, winning the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the NBA Finals MVP award, named after Celtics’ legend Bill Russell.
Brown averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in the NBA Finals, capping off a career year for the three-time All-Star.
BAL fourth edition, history-makers Rivers Hoopers & Petro de Luanda’s triumph
The Basketball Africa League returned for its fourth edition, but with a twist as the organisers added a new conference—the Kalahari Conference—in South Africa.
As always, 12 teams entered the competition to fight for the coveted title of Africa’s premier basketball team, with the Rivers Hoopers representing Nigeria.
The Port Harcourt-based team made history by becoming the first Nigerian team to progress to the BAL playoffs. The Rivers Hoopers also became the first team from Nigeria to reach the semifinals of the tournament, where they lost to beaten finalists Al Ahly Benghazi of Libya.
The Rivers Hoopers secured a blowout win over South Africa’s Cape Town Tigers to finish third, and by doing so, became the first Nigerian team to secure a podium finish in the BAL.
Angolan side Petro de Luanda, however, finally got their hands on the BAL title, emerging champions in their fourth time of asking, having previously finished third, second, and fourth, respectively.
Petro defeated Libya’s Al Ahly Benghazi 104-97 in the final at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, to become the first Angola team to win the BAL.
