ALBA Berlin has secured the long-term future of Jack Kayil, signing the highly rated German guard to a contract through the end of the 2030-31 season.
The Berlin-born talent enjoyed a breakout campaign last season, earning Best Young Player honors in both the BBL and Basketball Champions League before helping ALBA win the German championship.
In the BBL, Kayil averaged 12.4 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds in just over 21 minutes per game. He also played an important role in the Finals against Bayern, producing 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game over the five-game series.
His performances earned him the BBL U22 Player of the Year award with more than 90% of the vote. Kayil was also named Basketball Champions League Best Young Player after averaging 11.9 points, 4.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds in slightly more than 20 minutes per game.
Following ALBA’s championship run, Kayil was selected with the 39th overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. His NBA rights were subsequently moved to the New York Knicks as part of a trade between the two franchises.
ALBA sporting director Himar Ojeda described Kayil’s decision to stay as an important success for the club’s development program. He stressed that ALBA intends to help the guard continue his progression while supporting his ambition of eventually reaching the NBA and following the path of fellow Berliners Franz and Moritz Wagner.
Kayil also made clear that the NBA remains his ultimate goal, while describing ALBA as the ideal environment to continue developing after a highly successful season.
Born in Berlin in 2006, Kayil began playing basketball in the youth system of TuS Neukölln before joining ALBA’s academy in 2021. He won the German U19 championship with ALBA in 2023 and was also named Rookie of the Year.
He later moved to RASTA Vechta, winning another NBBL championship in 2024 and earning Finals MVP honors, before joining Serbian club Mega Basket for the 2024-25 season.
Kayil has also established himself as one of Germany’s most promising prospects at international level. He helped Germany win the U16 European Championship Division B in 2022, claimed bronze at the U18 European Championship in 2023 and then won U18 European gold in 2024, scoring 15 points in the final in Tampere. In November 2024, he received his first call-up to the German senior national team.
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