NBA Withdraws Rwanda Basketball Team from African Basketball League After US Sanctions

In a letter dated October 23, Democratic Senator Jeffrey Merkley and Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn gave the NBA a deadline of November 2 to provide a written response regarding its continued partnership with Rwanda.

In the letter, the senators asked, “What is the NBA’s red line for accepting money from foreign governments that commit human rights abuses?” They also questioned how the association could “reconcile its continued partnership with Rwanda with its purported commitment to justice.”

In its response, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said the Rwandan team had been withdrawn from the Basketball Africa League following sanctions imposed earlier in the year, according to American sports website ESPN.

The NBA said the APR basketball club would remain barred while the US sanctions are in place.

The APR is one of Rwanda’s top basketball teams and represented the country in the BAL in 2024 and 2025, when it finished third. It was replaced by the RSSB Tigers this year.

The BAL is a pan-African basketball league established and co-organized by the NBA and the basketball’s world governing body, FIBA. It is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across the continent.

Rwanda has hosted all but one of the league’s final and playoff matches since the inaugural match in 2021.

The NBA reportedly receives millions of dollars annually from Rwanda for marketing and partnership rights.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has repeatedly condemned Rwanda’s high-profile international sports deals, including with the NBA, European football clubs and Formula 1, asking them to end their campaigns. It argues that these efforts help Rwanda clean up its global image while the conflict continues in eastern DR Congo.

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