Stade Malien (basketball)

Stade Malien is a Malian basketball team based in Bamako. It is part of the multi-sports club, which also has a football team and rugby team. Founded in 1960, Stade plays in the Ligue 1, the highest level of basketball in Mali. They play in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in the 2023 season.

The club is one of the most decorated teams in Mali, having won the Ligue 1 a record 18 times and the Malian Cup a record 24 times.

Stade Malien were the third placed team in the 2023 season of the Basketball Africa League. They were also runners-up in the FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup twice, in 1972 and 1989.

History
The parent club of the basketball team was founded in 1960.

It took thirty-two years before Stade Malien won its first title, which was in 1992.

They also reached the FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup finals twice, in 1972 and 1989. Both finals were lost, to Red Star Ndongo and ASEC Mimosas respectively.

After last appearing in international competitions in 2007, Stade Malien played in the 2023 season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), after finishing third in the West Division of the Road to BAL. Stade Malien finished as winners of the 2023 Sahara Conference, after finishing with a 3–2 record. They were led by local young players, 22-year old Souleymane Berthé who averaged 20.4 points, and 21-year old Aliou Diarra who lead the conference in rebounding with 13.4 per game.

In the 2023 BAL Playoffs, Stade Malien continued its rise by defeating the Cape Town Tigers in the quarter-finals and thus becoming the first Malian team to reach the BAL semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the Malians narrowly lost to Al Ahly, before taking the third place game over Petro de Luanda. Aliou Diarra was named the BAL Defensive Player of the Year, and was given a spot in the All-BAL First Team.

National
Ligue 1 (record) 


 * Champions (18): 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2022, 2023

Malian Cup (record) 


 * Winners (25): 1961, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2014, 2022, 2023

Malian Super Cup


 * Winners: 2012, 2023

International
Basketball Africa League (BAL)


 * Third place (1): 2023

FIBA Africa Champions Cup

Road to BAL
 * Runners-up (2): 1972, 1989
 * Third place (1): 1981
 * Fourth place (1): 1996


 * Third place (1): 2023

2023 roster
The following was the Stade Malien roster in the 2023 BAL season:
 * As of 22 May 2023.

Head coach: 🇲🇱 Kaba Kanté

Notable players

 * 🇲🇱 Salimata Dembélé
 * 🇲🇱 Mamadou Keita
 * Aliou Diarra
 * John Wilkins
 * Rueben Chinyelu
 * Souleymane Berthé

Women's team
Stade Malien also has a women's team that plays in the highest division of Mali. The team has won the Malian championship three times (in 2001, 2011 and 2013) and the Malian Women's Cup eleven times (1981, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2016, 2022).