Not only is Cape Town Tigers guard Lebohang Mofokeng the most successful basketball player from Welkom, he is also a man of many talents.
He is an engineer by profession and a youth coach in his spare time when he is done breaking his opponents’ ankles and knees on the court for the Tigers.
Welkom, a city whose Sesotho name is Matjhabeng, which means “where nations meet” and is derived from the migrant labour system attracted by the gold mines, is where Mofokeng calls home.
He is one of six siblings, and little did his security guard mother know when she gave birth to him, that 31 years later Lebohang would be playing in the Basketball Africa League, the biggest and only one of its kind on the continent, and that he would also represent South Africa in the sport.
Growing up in a community faced with social ills, poor service delivery, dilapidated roads and infrastructure, low income and poverty, education becomes a priority and, in Mofokeng’s case, he holds college qualifications in civil engineering and sports science.
It was when he was studying civil engineering at Sedibeng TVET College near Johannesburg that he came across basketball in 2012.
Football was his first love. And on the day he was introduced to basketball, he had soccer boots around his neck and was roaming around looking for a team at the college’s sports trials.
“While I was doing my second year, the college had tryouts for different sporting codes.
“I had my soccer boots with me. I looked for soccer, tennis and volleyball, then found basketball.
“And there I found guys who were willing to teach me how the game works because I had no history of playing the sport,” he said.
Though it took him years to realise his potential, Mofokeng’s record now speaks for itself.
He has played for Phenomenal Phenoms, Northwest Eagles, Northern Cape Zebras, Soweto Panthers and Egoli Magic, with whom he won the BNL (SA domestic league).
“While I was playing at the college, I got a scholarship at NWU Vaal to do my sports sciences.
“That is when I got close to the professional side of things because I played for the Eagles and that was my second full year playing basketball in 2015.
“I was captain at that time.
“The same year I was picked as one of the 12 best university basketball players to represent them at games held in Botswana.
“Then Zebras came when I was in the Free State, while I was studying there after I had finished my sports sciences.
“I was doing criminology and psychology, but I did not finish. I only did one-and-a-half years because I did not have a bursary at the time, and I could not keep up with everything.
“While I was with Zebras, an owner from Phenomenal Phenoms asked if I could play for them. I took up the offer, and I would travel from the Free State to Johannesburg for games.
“There I was seen by the general manager of the Soweto Panthers.
“He built the team around me, then after we lost to Egoli Magic in the finals they scouted me and we ended up winning the BNL the next year,” he said.
He has now been with the Cape Town Tigers since 2021.
He was with them in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in 2023 and 2024 when the side reached the quarterfinals.
As a member of the SA team, he is hoping for even bigger things from the sport he loves.
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