"The Big and Magical Basketball Games" Returns Bigger and Better for BAL Season 6 — Now Available as Book, Comic, Audiobook, and Animated Video

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) and NABU (nabu.org), a global leader in multilingual children's literacy, have returned for BAL Season 6 with the most ambitious expansion of their storytelling partnership to date.

The Big and Magical Basketball Games, the original BAL children's book series, is now available in five languages, in four formats: illustrated print and digital book, animated comic, audiobook on Spotify (tr.ee/bid_495KsL), and animated video. The full series is accessible for free at linktr.ee/balcomicbook and on the NABU app (nabu.org/download).

The Story

When the legendary BAL Cup is stolen by supernatural creatures and split into three pieces, a team of young players must unite to bring it home. Guided by Baba the BAL Mascot, Mwangi "Magic" (Kenya), Merry Malik (Morocco), Sure Shot Fatou (Senegal), Rocket Rukundo (Rwanda), and All Star Anele (South Africa) embark on a high-stakes quest across the continent.

From facing floating spirits in Morocco to outplaying the fierce Simb in Senegal and the towering Abatangana Giants in Rwanda, this five-country team is bound by one motto: "All for the game!"

Available Formats & Languages

• Read: Illustrated digital and print books in English, Kinyarwanda, isiZulu, French, and Arabic — linktr.ee/balcomicbook
• Watch: Animated comic book — available on the NABU platform and YouTube
• Listen: Immersive audiobook on Spotify — tr.ee/bid_495KsL
• Download: NABU app available at nabu.org/download
  

Rocket Rukundo's Jungle Escapade — New for Season 6

In partnership with Visit Rwanda, NABU has released Rocket Rukundo's Jungle Escapade — a spin-off story featuring Rwanda's BAL team captain. The book was co-created through an open creative fellowship supported by the Ministry of Youth and Arts Rwanda, which drew 37 applicants and selected four young Rwandan writers and illustrators to join NABU's professional team.

Published in English, French, and Kinyarwanda, Rocket Rukundo's Jungle Escapade is the first BAL children's book co-created by Rwandan talent. It was launched on May 27, 2026 at Green Hills Academy in Kigali, in the presence of the BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall, the CEO of NBA Africa Clare Akamanzi, and Rwanda's Minister of State for Youth Sandrine Umutoni.

“When we launched The Big and Magical Basketball Games, we asked what would happen if we put Africa's children at the centre of a basketball story. The answer was: millions of them read it. This season, we go further — more languages, more formats, and for the first time, a book built by Rwandan hands. That is the story we are most proud of.”

— Camille Park, CEO, NABU

About Basketball Africa League

The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and NBA Africa, is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa. Based in Dakar, Senegal, BAL builds on FIBA Africa's established club competitions. Follow BAL (@theBAL) on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and YouTube, and visit BAL.NBA.com.

About Visit Rwanda

Visit Rwanda is the official tourism promotion body of Rwanda, widely known as the Land of a Thousand Hills. Visit Rwanda promotes the country's culture, heritage, and tourism offer to the world. visitrwanda.com.

About NABU

NABU is a tech-enabled publisher of multilingual children's books, providing equitable access to literacy so all children can read and rise to their full potential. NABU creates culturally responsive mother-tongue stories efficiently and at scale, with a vision of providing every child with equitable access to literacy by 2030. Visit nabu.org.