With the 2025 NBL season  almost getting underway, we take a look at some of the most important players for their teams.

City Oilers

Malual Dier is going into this season as one of the most versatile players for the Oilers and he will heavily be relied upon.

Dier can play 1 through 5 and his ball handling skills plus height (ability to get rebounds) make him a great asset.

Dier showed us what he is capable of in the 2023 season while with Our Savior and even though he never got off to a great start in his Oilers journey, his involvement kept on increasing as the season kept going.

He will be looking to secure his place and with the amount of  potential he possesses, he will be pivotal in the Oilers’ success.

Edgar Munaba is player who needs no introduction as many of us have seen what he is capable of.

He had an impressive start to the 2024 season which ultimately earned him a debut with the Silverbacks.

With the Afrobasket mid season, Edgar will be out to prove himself and show the world that he deserves to be on the Silverbacks roster.

This makes him very dangerous as he’s a player on a mission and if utilized fully, he will tear the league  apart.

Namuwongo Blazers

The Namuwongo Blazers have a lot of star and fire power and it’s very difficult to select who will be their most important players, however here are some names.

Joel Lukoji’s ability to take over the game even without scoring makes him such a force.

With himself and Jimmy Enabu in the team, it is hard to know who will be starting for the team but Joel has proved himself in the last 2 years with the Titans.

Joel’s ball handling helps him easily beat defenders and consequently, he can attract double teams which creates space for others.

That is something that the Blazers will use more so when the games become harder. You need individual brilliance at a high level and Joel will guarantee you that.

Peter Obleng did not play in the first round in the 2024 season but his impact in the second was felt.

What makes him stand out a lot is his ability to attempt and make very tough shots.

When the going gets tough, you need a player who isn’t afraid to take the shot and Obleng gives you that.

He has the potential of becoming the top points scorer, just like Peter Cheng who was with the Blazers the previous season.

KIU Titans

The KIU Titans went in a whole new direction and they have to have some of the players show up big in case they are to survive in the league.

Demasio Bona Bang will most likely be their go-to guy because of how versatile he is.

He has good height, fairly good size, can guard the ball and most importantly shoot the basketball.

One of his biggest strengths is shooting off the dribble and this will come in handy when the defense closes in on him.

JT Jaguars

The signing of Peter Sifuma greatly elevated the JT Jaguars more so in terms of how much a threat they pose in the interior.

Sifuma can score with great efficiency, collect rebounds and also block.  His size and ability to protect the rim makes him a very big asset for the Jaguars defensively.

Fadhili Chuma was the glue that kept a number of things for the JT Jaguars together in the 2024 season.

He is very versatile and with the arrival of Sifuma, he will get to reduce on his workload defensively and thus be more productive offensively.

The combination of these 2 could turnout as the best big man combo in the league if they can click.

Kampala Rockets

Puati Ozias Kikomba was very much in contention for MVP but the record for the Kampala Rockets let him down.

Ozias led in blocks, rebounds and was top 10 in scoring. He is a weapon and one could argue that he is the best big man in the country at the moment.

Every time he shows up, he gives 100% and this season will be another good one for him.

The presence of Ozias alone is not enough and that is where Christian Ndibu comes in.

In the first round of the 2024 season, Ndibu averaged 11.1 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.2 steals for the Ndejje Angels.

In the second, he moved to the Kampala Rockets and averaged 10.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals.

In his time at Kampala Rockets, they won 7/11 games where he was involved and the Rockets improved their season record from 1-10 to 8-14 in the regular season.

Victoria University

With the departure of Joseph Kumbai, Victoria University brought in Chuol Nyuot and he has big shoes to fill.

Chuol had been with the Namuwongo Blazers for 9 years but he had never quite earned the trust of the coach.

Moving to Victoria University is a new challenge and fresh start for him and he has to prove himself.

However, there is a lot of expectations on him given that he’s replacing Kumbai (13.6 points, 14.9 rebounds,1.5 steals and 1.7 blocks), a player who completed turned the University’s trajectory in the 2024 Division One season.

Sommet

Mark Ngobi is a certified bucket getter and he will continue to do that for Sommet in the NBL.

In the last 2 years in Division one, he has average more than 13 points and he is a threat on the perimeter and the interior.

He will be first option for Sommet on offense and if they can get him going, he will win for them multiple games.

Opira Markey plays on the ball a lot but the upside to this is the fact that you’re guaranteed points.

He averaged 13.4 points and 1.6 assists in the 2024 Division One season and Sommet will be hoping he brings that same fire power to the NBL.

If Sommet have both Markey and Mark firing on all cylinders, we have to expect high scoring games because of how much offense these 2 can guarantee.

Rezlife Saints

Straight from being MVP of the 2024 FUBA Division One season, Apugi Takpiny Acinbaai is looking to have another spectacular year.

He averaged 9.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals but most importantly, he showed up when it mattered the most.

Despite Rezlife having a number of options in the big man positions, Apugi has turned out to be the most consistent and reliable.

UCU Canons

Joel Kayiira is developing into a top player but it has been mostly glimpses of what he can do that we’ve been able to see.

He hasn’t had many games where he has completed dominated but that also boils down to the fact that Peter Sifuma was their number one option.

Kayiira has a chance to show us what he is made of in this upcoming season and the coach must be stressing to him how important he is for them.

Kayiira was an efficient scorer in the 2024 season with 48.8% FG but his Free-throw percentage was just 48.5% and he needs to up these numbers given the number of time he may go to the line.

He averaged 8.7 points and 9.4 rebounds and with Sifuma gone, he will be their primary rebounder and first option in the post.

KCCA Panthers

Mugerwa Stanley is one of the new signings for the KCCA Panthers and he will be very integral to how they play as a team.

One of is biggest strengths is the midrange jump shot and that is a dimension of the game that the Panthers lacked in the 2024 season.

Stanley has a wealth of experience and he is expected to contribute massively on offense and defense.

Some people call Caesar Kizito a free throw merchant but the guy has mastered his craft when it comes to drawing fouls.

He averaged 5.9 free throws attempts and scored 4.4 per game.

Additionally, he scored 13.6 points, collected 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.1 assists.

He was KCCA Panthers top scorer in the 2024 season and bringing the same energy this season will help them a lot.

JKL Dolphins

Some people say, hadn’t Philip Ameny left Power during the second round, maybe they would have survived.

That stresses how important his presence is on the court and what he can do for a team.

Philip has very good court vision and often makes very good cross court passes.

JKL will need to have runners because with this, Philip can easily make the pass and we saw it a lot with Power in the 2024 season.

His size is also a big advantage for him and he can rely on that to bully other players.

The biggest downside to having him is that he can’t run up and down the court so most times, you won’t have him getting to work in the post.

Livingstone

Bismarck Okot has been the best player for Livingstone for the last 4 years.

The 2023 FUBA Division One is their go-to person when in need of offense and he also brings energy defensively.

The biggest quality he had showcased is his consistency throughout his time at Livingstone.

Despite change of at the helm, Livingstone will be relying on this man and hoping that he can lead them to a playoff spot.