Joe Guibert Nijimbere (born 26 December 1996) is a Burundian basketball player for Kepler and the Burundi national basketball team.

Guibert Nijimbere
Kepler
PositionPoint guard
LeagueRwanda Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1996-12-26) 26 December 1996 (age 27)
Mutanga-Nord, Burundi
Listed height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Career information
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013–2017New Star
2017–2019IPRC-Kigali
2019–2021Patriots
2021–2023Urunani
2023–2024Dynamo
2024–presentKepler
Career highlights and awards
  • Burundian League champion (2022)
  • First-team All-RBL (2019)
  • RBL All-Star (2019)
  • Genocide Memorial Tournament MVP (2019)

Early life

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Nijimbere was born on 26 December 1996 in Mutanga-Nord, a suburb of Bujumbura, the largest city in the country. He was the second of 9 children.[1] He grew up attending his father's Sunday league basketball games with his three brothers, all of whom ended up playing the sport.[2]

Career

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Starting his career for New Star in 2013, he became the youngest player to play at Burundi's highest level at the age of 16. In 2017, Nijimbere signed with IPRC-Kigali in Rwanda.[2]

In 2019, he joined Patriots BBC and was part of the team that qualified for the 2020 BAL season. He was named MVP of the 2019 Genocide Memorial Tournament and won the three-point contest in that year's All-Star game.[2][3]

In November 2021, Nijimbere returned to New Star to play in the second round of the 2022 BAL Qualifying Tournaments.[4]

In January 2022, Nijimbere Guibert signed a two-year professional contract with Urunani BBC and at the beginning of August 2022 Urunani became the champion of the national basketball league of Burundi: VBL (Viva Basketball League).

On 14 August, Urunani BBC has drawn up a list of 12 players who will represent the club in the BAL Qualifiers with Guibert Nijimbere at the top of the list.

He joined Dynamo in October 2023 ahead of the 2024 BAL qualification tournament.[5] In April 2024, Nijimbere signed with Kepler BBC of the Rwanda Basketball League.[6]

Personal

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Nijimbere has studied at the Free University of Kigali.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Guibert Nijimbere, un basketteur né". Yaga Burundi (in French). 9 February 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Guibert Nijimbere: The rise of a basketball star". The New Times. 6 July 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020.
  3. ^ Rukundo, Landry (9 February 2020). "Guibert Nijimbere, un basketteur né". yaga-burundi.com. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Basketball: Gasana, Nijimbere join Burundian club ahead of BAL qualifiers". The New Times | Rwanda. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Road to BAL 2024: A look at Dynamo, novice but ambitious - At a glance". Sport News Africa. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  6. ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (13 April 2024). "Basketball: Nijimbere joins Kepler". The New Times. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
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