Inside Jean Jacques Boissy's Path Back To The BAL Final

Forbes

14-06-2025

'Are They Ready For Me?" That's the question Al Ahli Tripoli's point guard Jean Jacques Boissy throws back, half-joke, full conviction when asked if he's ready for the moment. It's more than a clever line. It's the energy of a player who's been counted out, moved around, and quietly transformed into not only one of the BAL's most reliable leaders but one of the young superstars of this league.
For Boissy, this year's BAL Final isn't just a shot at redemption it's a return to the stage where it all started. From a breakout run with Senegal's AS Douanes to a fresh challenge with Libya's Al Ahli Tripoli, his path reflects not only personal growth but the maturing identity of a league where African basketball continues to rise.
In an interview with Forbes.com ahead of the Season 5 BAL Finals against Petro de Luanda in Pretoria, South Africa, Boissy shared more about the lessons learned from his three seasons in the BAL, the decision to join Tripoli for Season 5, his role on the team as well as how he hopes his journey can inspire others.
His BAL debut came with AS Douanes, and even then, he had a sense that something special was possible. 'I think it's been a great journey,' he shared. 'My first year, I was still a local player with AS Douanes and we managed to make it to the finals. Our goal was just to reach the Playoffs, but we saw our chances, played hard and made it to the Final?'
They pushed, they played hard, they stayed together. But the dream ended in heartbreak against Al Ahly of Egypt. 'It hurt me, but it was a great experience to make it to the finals in my first year,' he admits.
The following season, he returned to Douanes with unfinished business. 'I went back trying to finish the job. But we didn't make it to the semifinals. We lost against Petro. We were leading the whole game by 20. It was a bad, bad fourth quarter for us, but we lost it.'
That sting didn't break him, it sharpened him. 'You get better after every loss,' he says. 'And I think that's what really helped me to focus on this year and try to win it.'
This season marked a pivotal turning point. The team he played for during The Road to the BAL — Urunani, did not qualify, and his previous team — AS Douanes, where he spent his first two BAL seasons, also failed to qualify. As a result, an opportunity arose with Al Ahli Libya. However, the decision to leave home was not an easy one.
'It was, first of all, a hard choice to make, leaving your country,' he explains. 'Making this choice to go play for Al Ahli was really hard. Everybody in Senegal was like, 'He just left Senegal to play for another team.''
There was pressure. Doubts. Whispers about his role.
'A lot of people were texting me saying; 'they signed a lot of point guards. I don't think you're going to have playing time and all that,'' he shares. 'But I really trust myself. I prayed to God before I made the choice. Talked to my parents, my friends, and my agent. And here we are.'
For him, it came down to research and faith. 'Life is about choices. You've got to study the team, study the market, study the value of the team. And I think this was a great fit for me.'
Having suited up for AS Douanes, Urunani in the Road to BAL, and now Tripoli, he's navigated diverse systems and coaching philosophies, a process he's embraced with humility.
'It's not a really big challenge going from team to team, as long as you stay the same,' he says. "I'm really a coachable person. Wherever I go, as long as I'm still me: listening to the coaches, listening to the players, trying to get better every time, it's easy for me to fit in.'
The consistency paid off. 'I played with Urunani, and it was with the same coach who coached me at AS Douanes, Coach Pabi Gueye. He liked to play defense and to play hard. He's a winner," Boissy reflects. "I came here, Coach Fouad is just like my dad, that's how he sees me and coming off the bench, he has always found a way to make me look good.'
The season tipped off in Kigali, a place that holds emotional weight for him. Years ago, it was a proving ground during a rough period where he played with United Generation Basketball Club in the Rwandan League. Returning with Al Ahli was a reminder of how far he and the country had come.
'When I was there, they didn't have the stadium. They didn't have a lot of things,' he recalls. 'Some people didn't recognise me until the game started. It was like, 'Oh, that was the kid playing for UGB.' So it was great for me. I had a lot of fans in Rwanda. I was really feeling like I was playing home in Rwanda.'
That energy pushed him forward. 'It really helped me to boost my confidence. And to show them that I really grew up and I got better in my game.'
This season, his performance has stood out averaging 19.7 points, 2 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game - all while coming off the bench. The box score reflects his influence, but his real impact and the growth of his basketball IQ is in how he controls the pace, makes the right reads, and leads by example.
'I think it's just like knowing the game better and growing up,' he says. 'Because people used to view me as just a kid that's hungry for more and I couldn't control my emotions and was just really rushing everything.'
Now, he sees the game differently. 'I've really been working on making sure I know what the game needs me to do and doing it," shares Boissy. "I am not just trying to score, if this game needs asks me to pass to the short roll or play good defense, I'm just going to be there for that.'
In previous BAL campaigns, he was the player asked to shut down opponents' best scorers. This year, the role has changed from game to game and he's responded each time and still maintained his edge, earning him a spot on the BAL-All Defensive first team.
2025 BAL Coach Of the Year, Coach Fouad Chacra called him one of the greatest gifts to the team this season, a testament not only to his playmaking but to how seamlessly he's fit into the locker room.
'They really made me feel comfortable,' Boissy says. 'At some point, it felt like I had been playing with them for a couple of years.'
That comfort translated into chemistry. 'They have the same energy as me. They're trying to win. I played in the BAL for two years before now, this was their first. So I was always there to help them to know.'
Boissy's leadership came into sharper focus after the team's disappointing classification loss.
'Some people were stressing about it. And I was just there to let them know that in the BAL, you're going to have one game that's going to hurt your feelings. And we're just blessed to have it at the point where it's not going to send us home.'
He helped keep the team grounded. 'I was there to keep the team together and hopefully, that was the last loss we're going to have in the whole tournament.'
But leadership wasn't something new, it just took a new form. He'd captained teams before, but being a young foreign player made it harder to step up vocally at first.
'I used to be a leader, like growing up and playing under-18 with Senegal, I was the captain but whenever I go somewhere and I see older people, I just give them their respect,' he explains.
That instinct to step back shifted this year.
'They gave me the space and let me know that I could talk to them and I have seen my leadership skills grow. I am calm, poised, and learning more about controlling my emotions.'
Boissy has reached the final once again but this time, the perspective is different.
'I'm just thinking that it's one game I've got to win. It's just like 40 more minutes," shared Boissy. "I'm not going to stress myself about it being a final I'm just taking it as a game.'
More than anything, he wants his journey to mean something, especially to the kids back home.
'I'm really doing this for every African kid that didn't go to college or to high school. To just know that you still can achieve big things as long as you stay on track. You keep working hard and believe in yourself.'
He knows the path isn't easy. 'Everybody is not going to have the opportunity to go overseas but you can't give up. I wish everybody was going to have it. But it's not going to be like that," shares Boissy.
"You're going to go through some hard times. But you just got to keep working and believe in yourself.'
Whether the trophy is in his hands or not when the final buzzer sounds at Sun Bet Arena, one thing is clear, his BAL journey has already left its mark.