PRETORIA, South Africa -- American veteran Raphiael Putney expected his Basketball Africa League (BAL) debut to come two years ago with the Cape Town Tigers, but when he finally took to the floor with Nigerian side Rivers Hoopers in Rabat, it was worth the wait.
Despite his stellar contribution in qualifying matches in late 2022, Putney was cut by the Tigers amid a dispute with then-CEO Raphael Edwards ahead of the 2023 season. His contract was terminated ahead of the BAL.
Putney had claimed that his contract had been terminated without notice, leaving him short of $70,000, while Edwards claimed Putney had been informed of transgressions - which he did not specify - prior to termination.
Sources close to the team had claimed there was tension between the pair largely due to Putney standing up for other players who had been allegedly mistreated by Tigers management. Edwards resigned as CEO in 2024 amid alleged discrepancies in the club's reporting of player payments to the BAL.
Disputes with his former team aside, Putney, who has played professionally in Australia, Italy, Israel, and Puerto Rico to name a few, thoroughly enjoyed his time in South Africa, and has been enjoying being back for the BAL playoffs currently on the go in Pretoria.
Putney told ESPN: "I'm pushing so much for this team. I've got a lot of people that I consider family now and friends there. As soon as they saw me sign with the Rivers Hoopers team, they were like: 'Man, you've got to make the playoffs and come back to South Africa'.
"I have a lot of supporters that I'll bring to the game for our team."
Few players outside the NBA have commanded the same fanfare as Putney, who was an NBA D-League All-Star in 2016 with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. His NBA dream never came to fruition, but his grit and intensity caught the eyes of basketball lovers.
In the Rivers Hoopers, he picked a team with the same plucky underdog characteristics responsible for his rise and continuity. Rivers Hoopers finished third in last season's BAL and have had a similarly competitive season in 2025.
"Kelvin [Amayo], one of the captains here on this team, reached out to me over the past couple of years to come play in BAL, but every time he's reached out to me, I've been signed somewhere, so I couldn't get out of the contract. This year, I told him: 'I have the opportunity to play. I'll come play with you,'" Putney said.
Putney could have been forgiven if his experience in South Africa had put him off African basketball, but despite his problems with Cape Town Tigers management, he fell in love with African basketball in South Africa and that love has only multiplied in Nigeria, and then in Morocco, where the Kalahari Conference took place.
"My experience [in Africa] has been A1 other than the problem that we had at Cape Town," he said.
"Everything else has been a smooth coast... I've been enjoying my stay. I've been loving the coaches and teammates. A lot of the guys - they're younger. They look up to me as the leader. They ask a lot of questions to me," continued Putney - who recently turned 35.
Putney is relishing passing on the lessons he has learned. Although he had to learn some off-court lessons the hard way at the Tigers, he has put that to the back of his mind.
"For me, I feel like it's all going to work out when it's supposed to. I [can't] continue to dwell on something that happened two or three years ago. Money is money, but at the same time, I want to continue to just experience my career and in due time, when it does come down towards the end of that story, hopefully things will be out and go in the right direction for all the players at that organisation," said Putney.
Whatever negatives he has experienced in Africa have been far outweighed by the positives, as he put it. "[My favourite part] has been how welcoming the people are here in Africa - and they're open to see new things, new players, new people, new opportunities," Putney said.
"I'm grateful just to have people come watch me on this continent. I think there's a lot of basketball in Africa that is unseen - there are a lot of guys that [haven't been] seen yet."
Putney has faith in the league to iron out any remaining creases in the organisation of the tournament and said: "I think NBA Africa and the BAL is going to be probably one of the best leagues in the world."