BAL Most Valuable Player

The Basketball Africa League Hakeem Olajuwon Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Basketball Africa League (BAL) award given to the best player of a given season. The award is named after all-time great Hakeem Olajuwon. The award was first handed out in the inaugural season to Walter Hodge.[1]

Basketball Africa League awards and honours
Individual awards
Honors
BAL Most Valuable Player Award
SportBasketball
LeagueBasketball Africa League
Awarded forBest performing player in the season of the Basketball Africa League
History
First award2021
Most wins4 players (1 each)
Most recentJo Lual-Acuil, Al Ahly Ly (2024)

From the 2024 season, fan voting was introduced in the process with 25% of the score being determined by online fan votes. Fans could vote on a selected pool of players.[2]

Three players have won the award thus far. Nuni Omot from South Sudan is the only African player to have won the award.[3]

Winners
Key
Player (X) Name of the player and number of times they had won the award at that point (if more than one)
† Player was on a team that did not win the BAL championship
Season Player Position Nationality Club Selected statistics Ref
2021 Walter Hodge Guard  US Virgin Islands[lower-alpha 1] Zamalek
  • 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game
  • 19 points and 10 assists in semi-final
  • 12 points and 4 assists in the final
 [1][4]
2022 Michael Dixon Guard  Georgia[lower-alpha 2] US Monastir
  • 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game
  • Led the league in three-point percentage with 47.4%
  • 21 points and 6 assists in the final
 [1][5]
2023 Nuni Omot Forward  South Sudan[lower-alpha 3] Al Ahly
  • 18.9 points per game
  • Four 20+ games
  • 22 points in the final
 [3][7]
2024 Jo Lual-Acuil Center  South Sudan Al Ahly Ly† [8]

Notes
  1. Hodge, born in Puerto Rico, also owns the Puerto Rican and American nationality but represents the US Virgin Islands in international competition.
  2. Dixon was born in the United States but became a naturalised Georgian citizen in 2016.
  3. Omot was born to South Sudanese parents in a refugee camp in Nairobi, Kenya. He also owns the American nationality as he moved to the country at age 2.[6] He represents South Sudan in international competition.

References
  1. "Zamalek are the champions of the inaugural Basketball Africa League". The BAL. 30 May 2021. Archived from the original on 30 May 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  2. "Vote for Your 2024 BAL Most Valuable Player". The BAL. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  3. "AL AHLY ARE THE 2023 BAL CHAMPIONS". The BAL. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  4. "Walter Wallace Hodge - Statistics". The BAL. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  5. "Michael Andre Dixon - Statistics". The BAL. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  6. "New forward for Bundesliga basketball team Gießen 46ers". Archysport. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  7. "Anunwa Omot - Statistics". The BAL. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  8. "Acuil-Jr. dominates 2024 BAL Awards". The BAL. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
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