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Nairobi City Thunder
Basketball team in Nairobi, Kenya From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Nairobi City Thunder are a Kenyan professional basketball team based in the Shauri Moyo neighborhood of Nairobi. Founded in 1998 as NSSF Stars, they play in the KBF Premier League, the top flight division of men's basketball in the country. The Thunder play in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) for the 2025 season, and are the first Kenyan team to play in the league.
Home games of the Thunder are played at the Nyayo Indoor Gymnasium, which has capacity for 2,500 people. The Thunder won two national titles, in 2000 (as NSSF Stars), and in 2024.
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History
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The club was founded by Faustin Mgendi in 1998 as the NSSF Stars, a corporate team of the National Social Security Fund, a government agency responsible for retirement funds in the country.[1] Founder Mgendi later coached the team as well. The Stars reached the finals of the KBF Premier League for the first time in 1999, and won the championship in 2000.[1]
The team re-branded to th International Christian Center in 2003, as the church of the same name became the team's primary sponsor. The sponsorship agreement ran for seven years, and ended in 2010.[1]
From 2010, the team became self-funded and was named the Nairobi City Thunder, Their second finals appearance came 30 years later, in 2019.[2]
New ownership era
In 2023, the team was acquired by Twende Sports Limited, founded by Colin Rasmussen, Sandra Kimokoti, Kush Diriye and Stephen Domingo. [3] Following the transaction, the club transitioned to a fully professional organization, becoming the first basketball team in Kenya to employ full-time professional players.[3] The acquisition gave the team significant financial support with the goal of establishing an elite basketball club and youth program.[4] The Thunder hired Brad Ibs as their head coach for the 2023–24 season, who took over from long-serving coach Sadat Gaya, and acquired several Premier League star players.[5]
The Thunder won their first national championship on 20 July 2024, when they defeated KPA in the finals of the 2023–24 season.[6][7] Thunder players Griffin Ligare and Albert Odero were named the league's Playoffs MVP, and Season MVP, respectively.[6]
As the national champions, they qualified for the Road to BAL, the qualifying rounds of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). In the 2024 offseason, the Thunder signed Tylor Ongwae, who joined the team after playing nine seasons in Europe.[8] They also strengthened the roster with foreign players, including Will Davis and Uchenna Iroegbu.[9] After advancing past the first round, the Thunder further increased their firepower by attracting continental veterans Abdoulaye Harouna and Ater Majok, who had both played in each previous BAL season.[10] On December 2, they defeated City Oilers in the semifinals to qualify for the 2025 BAL season as the first Kenyan team in history.[11] The Kenyans suffered heavy losses at the hands of Al Ahli Tripoli and APR, however, they were able to win one game against MBB, the first win by a Kenyan team.[12] Nevertheless, the Thunder finished with a 1–5 record, leading to elimination in the group phase.[13]
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Players
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Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
Notable players
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
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Head coaches
Sadat Gaya: (–2023)
Brad Ibs: (2023–present)
References
External links
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