The 2026 NBL is expected to be very competitive but the difference between the top 5 teams and the others is glaringly huge.

Despite that, they are a couple of surprising things that could happen and in this article, I present to you, Ngabirano’s Bold Prediction for the season.

Magic Stormers to finish top 4 (regular season)

The Magic Stomers have been hovering between 5th and 8th for a long time. This time though, they retained most of their squad from 2025 and added 2 players with International experience.

Given that the teams slightly above them have not strengthened enough, I think the Stormers will push for a top 4 finish in the regular season.

JKL Lady Dolphins to lose 6 or more games in the regular season

Despite having not been perceived as the strongest team in 2025, the JKL Lady Dolphins finished as the number one seed after the regular season with just 3 losses.

This time around, Hope Akello is not available and there is a dark cloud of uncertainty around the team. I think they will lose more than 6 games in the regular season and will at best finished third in the regular season.

Nabisunsa to make the playoffs

This is a very long shot but it is a very big possibility. When you look at teams like Victoria She Crocs, Pearl Queens, Angels, UPDF Lady Tomahawks, Miracle Eaglets and KIU Rangers, they are not so much better than Nabisunsa.

The Nabisunsa side has the potential to get wins against any of these teams above and if they can get about 5 wins in the first round, the playoffs will be easily attained. If they can get 2 wins in their first 4 games, it should boost their confidence.

Angels to get relegated

When you look at the last 2 seasons, the weakest teams have gone on to be relegated but what was striking is the fact that they did not win any game.

This year, when you look at the squads, Angels is perhaps the weakest team. In 2025, they registered just 2 victories and both came against Nkumba which was weakest.

This time around, they are the weakest, can they secure big wins? I highly doubt that.To make matters worse, their big hitter, Martha Likicho departed together with Nakato Caroline and Faith Aseru who were also good contributors.

The 2026 NBL tips-off on 6th February with the Namuwongo Blazers and City Oilers have repeat of the 2025 finals while newly promoted Pearl Queens take on 2025 Finalists the JT Jaguars.