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]
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| League | Basketball Africa League |
| Awarded for | Best performing player in the season of the Basketball Africa League |
| History | |
| First award | 2021 |
| Most wins | 4 players (1 each) |
| Most recent | Jo 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
edit| 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 |
.jpg)
| Season | Player | Position | Nationality | Club | Selected statistics | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Walter Hodge | Guard |  US Virgin Islands[a]
|
 Zamalek
|
[1][4] | |
| 2022 | Michael Dixon | Guard |  Georgia[b]
|
 US Monastir
|
[1][5] | |
| 2023 | Nuni Omot | Forward |  South Sudan[c]
|
Al Ahly
|
|
[3][7] |
| 2024 | Jo Lual-Acuil | Center | South Sudan
|
 Al Ahly Ly†
|
|
[8] |
Notes
edit- ^ Hodge, born in Puerto Rico, also owns the Puerto Rican and American nationality but represents the US Virgin Islands in international competition.
- ^ Dixon was born in the United States but became a naturalised Georgian citizen in 2016.
- ^ 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
edit- ^ a b c "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.
- ^ "Vote for Your 2024 BAL Most Valuable Player". The BAL. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b "AL AHLY ARE THE 2023 BAL CHAMPIONS". The BAL. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "Walter Wallace Hodge - Statistics". The BAL. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Michael Andre Dixon - Statistics". The BAL. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "New forward for Bundesliga basketball team Gießen 46ers". Archysport. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ "Anunwa Omot - Statistics". The BAL. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Acuil-Jr. dominates 2024 BAL Awards". The BAL. Retrieved 3 June 2024.