ESPN premieres Origin: The Story of the Basketball Africa League
February 11, 2026
ESPN today premiered Origin: The Story of the Basketball Africa League exclusively on the ESPN App.
Origin documents the creation and launch of the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America, a pan-African professional basketball league in partnership with FIBA featuring 12 top club teams from across Africa’s 54 countries competing in a caravan format. The series captures the realisation of a vision decades in the making, spearheaded by Amadou Gallo Fall and Masai Ujiri, who transformed their long-held dream of elite African basketball into reality, and goes behind the scenes throughout BAL’s first season as it follows the stories of key players, coaches, and teams as they compete to be the historic first BAL champions.
Executive produced, written and co-directed by Richard Brown (True Detective, Catch-22, Outlaw King), with executive producers including Masai Ujiri, Akin Omotoso (Rise) and Fisher Stevens (Beckham) as well as co-director Tebogo Malope, the four-part documentary series follows the BAL’s inaugural season and playoffs while exploring the league’s potential to transform both large-scale sporting and socio-economic opportunities across the continent. The series is produced by Richard Brown’s Passenger and Fremantle, who are handling global sales on the series to bring the inspiring story of basketball and The BAL to audiences around the world.
The BAL showcases the diversity of Africa, bringing together teams from vastly different nations including Mozambique, Angola, Senegal, Rwanda, Egypt, and Morocco. Origin captures how basketball serves as a unifying force across the continent’s rich tapestry of cultures, languages, and traditions, creating connections between communities that span from North Africa’s Mediterranean shores to sub-Saharan nations.
The series also examines how the BAL serves as a unique bridge between Africa and North America, creating bidirectional pathways for opportunity. Through the stories of players, coaches, and league architects, Origin reveals how basketball is fostering new connections that benefit both continents.
The series features exclusive interviews and participation with key figures including:
- President Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States and a strategic partner of NBA Africa
- Masai Ujiri, Giants of Africa co-founder, former Toronto Raptors President, and series executive producer
- Amadou Gallo Fall, BAL President and longtime advocate for African basketball development
- Joakim Noah, two-time NBA All-Star and NBA Defensive Player Of The Year
- J. Cole, Grammy-winning artist and player for The Rwanda Patriots in the BAL’s inaugural season
- Dikembe Mutombo, NBA legend and pioneer of African basketball development
- Stephen Curry, four-time NBA champion
- Pascal Siakam, NBA champion from Cameroon
- Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner
Episode Synopses
- Episode 1: The Long Road to the BAL
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) begins its historic first season as the stakes are set for game one. - Episode 2: Right Here, Right Now
Group stages begin as players reflect on the BAL’s potential impact on Africa’s global perception. - Episode 3: More than a Game
Africa’s complex history and promising future is explored as the 8-team playoff begins for the BAL. - Episode 4: The Stage is Set
Africa’s complex history and promising future is explored as the 8-team playoff begins for the BAL.
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