Earlier this month Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic joined some of the NBA’s all-time greats by winning the league’s MVP award for the third time.

The Serb averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists this season and completed 25 triple-doubles for the defending NBA Champions.

Jokic, 29, became just the second player to finish with more than 2,000 points, 900 rebounds and 700 assists in a regular season.

The BAL will not announce its MVP until after the final in Kigali, but Jo Lual-Acuil is among several names in contention.

The South Sudanese-Australian centre has been crucial in Al Ahly Libya’s run to the final in their debut season, breaking the BAL’s single-game scoring record with 42 points in their Nile Conference win over City Oilers of Uganda.

Lual-Acuil averages 21.8 points and 9.9 rebounds but is well down on assists compared to Jokic, at 1.9 per game.

Petro shooting guard Carlos Morais, described as the ‘LeBron James of Africa’, could land the award if the Angolan club clinch the title, while Kelvin Amayo of Nigerian side Rivers Hoopers and Samkelo Cele of Cape Town Tigers also had impressive campaigns.