National Basketball League of Canada
Current season, competition or edition: 2015–16 NBL Canada season | |
|
Logo NBL Canada | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded |
May 5, 2011 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Inaugural season | 2011–12 |
| CEO | Dave Magley |
| Motto |
"It's Showtime!" "C'est Showtime!" |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |
 Canada |
| Continent | FIBA Americas (Americas) |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Windsor Express (2015) |
| Most titles | London Lightning and Windsor Express (2 titles) |
| Official website |
www |
The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; French: Ligue Nationale de Basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's basketball league founded in 2011. For the first season, three teams formerly of the Premier Basketball League joined, with four expansion teams officially joining to form the NBL's "Original Seven". In 2012, an eighth franchise based in Windsor, Ontario joined the league. The current champions are the Windsor Express, having defeated the Halifax Rainmen 4–3 in the 2015 NBL Finals.
History
In May 2011, it was announced that three former members of the Premier Basketball League—the Halifax Rainmen, Quebec Kebs, and Saint John Mill Rats—would come together to form the National Basketball League of Canada. Eventually, following the summer, the newly created London Lightning, Moncton Miracles, Oshawa Power, and Summerside Storm joined the league for its inaugural 2011–12 season. At this time, a professional team based in Kingston, Ontario applied to become a member, hoping to play their home games at the K-Rock Centre. Despite efforts from Andre Levingston and Sam Mitchell, the team would never feature.[1] In August 2011, the league reached a long-term agreement with Pointstreak Sports Technologies Inc., which would provide the NBL with a website, real-time scoring, and statistics. The CEO and president of the service, Scott Secord, said, "The NBL is an ideal flagship account for our new services for basketball organizations."[2]
The team salary cap would be $150,000 and franchises would have an annual operating budget ranging from $500,000 to $750,000. There would be 10–12 players on each roster, with a minimum two Canadians, and they would earn $2,000 to $4,000 per month, a salary similar to the NBA Development League and many international leagues.[3][4] There would be a 36-game schedule, per Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) rules, and the regular season would begin in November following the conclusion of training camp and preseason.[4][5] Teams were expected to see an average of 2,000 fans at each game.[5]
On August 21, 2011, the NBL held its first-ever draft at the Rogers Centre. Morgan Lewis, who led the University of Findlay to a title at the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship in 2009, was selected by the Oshawa Power with the first overall pick.[6] Panola College point guard Jerome Brown, who was taken with the fifth overall by the Saint John Mill Rats, became the first Canadian to be drafted. With the help of Dome Productions, the 2011 draft was live-streamed online and had 6,000 unique viewers from 93 different countries. The league gained 100 followers on Twitter that hour.[7]
The Quebec Kebs defeated the Moncton Miracles on October 29, 2011, with a score of 102–97, at the Colisée de Laval. Yannick Anzuluni and Boubacar Coly, who were from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Senegal respectively, debuted as the first international players in the league's history.[8] Within a week, every team in the league had featured in at least one game.[9] The regular season stretched until March 4, 2012. Six different players with past experience in the National Basketball Association (NBA) competed in the inaugural NBL Canada season as well: Will Blalock, Rodney Buford, Soumaila Samake, Orien Greene, Eddie Robinson, and Dontell Jefferson. On April 1, 2012, the league held its first-ever All-Star Game at the Halifax Metro Centre, appointing Joey Haywood and Eddie Smith as captains for the two teams. In the playoffs, the top four teams qualified for the best-of-three semifinals and advanced onto the 2012 NBL Canada Finals, which was played in a best-of-five format. The London Lightning topped the Halifax Rainmen for the title under head coach Micheal Ray Richardson.[7]
For its second season, the league welcomed the Windsor Express and began using 2 Four-team divisions, the Central and the Atlantic.[10]
Following the 2013-14, the league announced its first national broadcast deal with beIN Sports. Starting with the 2014-15 season, 2 regular season games will be aired each week with special coverage for playoffs and special events such as the All Star Weekend. The deal runs through the 2016-17 season.[11]
The 2014-15 NBL Season ended in controversy as the Windsor Express were declared winners of the Championship series after the Halifax Rainmen failed to show for the seventh and deciding game. The Rainmen organization claimed that their players feared for their safety following a physical altercation earlier in the day with the Express for not playing the game.[12]
Teams
The NBL of Canada started in 2011 with seven teams. Halifax, Saint John and Quebec moved from the Premier Basketball League while the other four teams started the 2011–12 season as new expansion teams (London, Moncton, Summerside and Oshawa).
For the 2012–13 season, the Windsor Express were added and the Quebec Kebs relocated to Laval. But before the Kebs saw any action, the league terminated the team after issues with team management arose. The league replaced the Kebs with a team based in Montreal, Quebec called the Montreal Jazz.[13]
Following the season, the Oshawa Power relocated to Mississauga and was renamed the Mississauga Power.[14]
On July 7, 2013, the Summerside Storm announced that the team will play out of the Charlottetown Civic Centre in Charlottetown for the 2013–14 season. The team was renamed the Island Storm.[15]
The league added the Brampton A's and Ottawa SkyHawks as new expansion teams for the 2013–14 season.[16]
On August 5, 2013, the NBL Board of Governors announced that the Montreal Jazz would sit out the 2013–2014 Season of NBL Canada after failing to secure new ownership.[17] The Montreal Jazz eventually folded, finishing their only season at 2-38.
On July 31, 2014, the NBL Board of Governors announced that the Ottawa SkyHawks would not participate in the 2014–2015 Season of NBL Canada for failing to "adhere to league standards as set out in the operating agreement, and deadlines set forth to prepare for the season."[18]
On April 8, 2015, an expansion franchise was officially announced for the Niagara region, with the name to be determined in a name-the-team contest. The team will begin play in the 2015–16 season, at the Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario. On June 29, 2015, the Toronto Raptors officially announced the creation of an NBA D-League team, the Raptors 905, which will begin play in the 2015-16 season at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. The expansion of the D-League into Mississauga forced the Mississauga Power to cease operations, bringing the league to eight teams, with four in Ontario and four in the Maritime Provinces.[19]
| Team | City, Province | Arena(Capacity) | Founded | Joined | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Division | |||||
| London Lightning | London, Ontario | Budweiser Gardens (9,046) | 2011 | Kyle Julius | |
| Niagara River Lions | St. Catharines, Ontario | Meridian Centre (5,300) | 2015 | Grâce Lokole | |
| Orangeville A's | Orangeville, Ontario | Orangeville Athletic Institute | 2013 |  Chris Thomas | |
| Windsor Express | Windsor, Ontario | WFCU Centre (6,500) | 2012 | Bill Jones | |
| Atlantic Division | |||||
| Halifax Hurricanes | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Scotiabank Centre (11,093) | 2015 |  Hugo López | |
| Island Storm | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | Eastlink Centre (4,000) | 2011* | Joe Salerno | |
| Moncton Miracles | Moncton, New Brunswick | Moncton Coliseum (6,554) | 2011 | Paul Mokeski | |
| Saint John Mill Rats | Saint John, New Brunswick | Harbour Station (6,603) | 2007* | 2011 | Rob Spon |
- Notes
- An asterisk (*) denotes a franchise move. See the respective team articles for more information.
- The Halifax Rainmen, Quebec Kebs and Saint John Mill Rats all joined the NBL Canada in 2011 from the PBL.
Future teams
- Cape Breton Highlanders - Announced to start play in the 2016–17 season in Sydney, Nova Scotia.[20]
Folded teams
- Halifax Rainmen - Filed for bankruptcy in July 2015 and new franchise called the Halifax Hurricanes were announced in September 2015.[21][22]
- Mississauga Power - Two years after relocating from Oshawa, Ontario the Power folded to make way for the new NBA D-League franchise, the Raptors 905.
- Montreal Jazz - Played the 2012-13 NBL Canada season, sat out the 2013–14 NBL Canada season and then folded.
- Ottawa SkyHawks - Removed following the 2013-14 NBL Canada season after failing to repay a loan from the league.
- Quebec Kebs - The Quebec Kebs relocated to Laval, Quebec after the initial 2011-12 NBL Canada season but folded before the start of the 2012-13 season.
Name changes
- Brampton A's - moved to Orangeville for 2015–16 season as the Orangeville A's
- Oshawa Power - moved to Mississauga for 2013–14 as the Mississauga Power.
- Summerside Storm - moved to Charlottetown for 2013–2014 as the Island Storm.
Timeline of teams
Regular season
Following the summer break, teams begin training camps in late September. Each teams training camp roster will eventually be pared down to a 12-man roster, with which they will begin the regular season. After training camp, a series of preseason exhibition games are held. The NBL Canada regular season begins in the first week of November.
During the regular season, each team plays 32 games, 16 each home and away. A team faces opponents in its own division eight times (24 games), and the remaining four teams two times (8 games).
Playoffs
The NBL Canada Championship Playoffs begin in late March, with the top three teams going for the Championship. The two division winners are given first round byes.
The second and third seeds meet each other in the first round of the NBL Canada Playoffs. The winners of these best-of-three series go on to meet the first seeds in a best-of-five semi-finals series. The winners of the two semi-finals series will meet in a final best-of-five series, known as the NBL Finals.[23]
League championships
The London Lightning and the Windsor Express have the most championships with 2 wins each. The Halifax Rainmen and the Island Storm have appeared in two league finals failing to win the trophy.
| Teams | Win | Loss | Total | Year(s) won | Year(s) lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Lightning | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2012, 2013 | — |
| Windsor Express | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2014, 2015 | — |
| Halifax Rainmen | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | 2012, 2015 |
| Summerside/Island Storm | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | 2013, 2014 |
Current teams that have no NBL Canada Finals appearances:
Awards
Most Valuable Player (Regular Season)
2011–12 Winner:
- Gabe Freeman, London Lightning
Freeman, a 6'10, 256-pound small forward from Costa Mesa (Calif.) Jr. College, was named NBL Canada Player of the Week three times and led the League in rebounds with a season total of 425 rebounds, 12.5 rpg. Freeman was also the league’s third leading scorer with a season total of 627 points, 17.9 ppg.
2012–13 Winner:
- Devin Sweetney, Moncton Miracles
NBL Canada’s Scoring Champion, Devin Sweetney, from the Moncton Miracles, who scored 1,173 points (24.9 points per game) during the season, took home NBL Canada’s Most Valuable Player in the second season.
2013–14 Winner:
- Anthony Anderson, Saint John Mill Rats
Former Canadian basketball leagues
- National Basketball League of Canada, played one season 1993-1994 (from former World Basketball League, (1987-1992).
- Canadian National Basketball League, (2002-2004).
References
- ↑ Edmiston, Jake. "Talks become more serious". Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ↑ "Pointstreak Captures New Market With Signing of National Basketball League of Canada". CKSN.ca. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ↑ Grange, Michael. "A league of our own?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- 1 2 "NBL Canada finalizes league rules". Metro News. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- 1 2 "NBL: Does Moncton believe in Miracles?". Journal Pioneer. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ↑ Kleps, Kevin. "Pro basketball: Harvey grad Morgan Lewis is drafted first overall in Canadian League". The News-Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- 1 2 "NBL Canada 2014-15 Media Guide" (PDF). NBLCanada.ca. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ↑ "Moncton Miracles 97, Laval Kebs 102". RealGM. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ↑ Gay, Carlan. "First Ever NBL Power Rankings Released!". NorthPoleHoops.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ↑ "History". nblcanada.pointstreaksites.com. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
- ↑ "NBL Canada lands historic deal". NBLCanada.ca. 2014-04-23. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
- ↑ http://www.lfpress.com/2015/04/30/another-black-eye-for-national-basketball-league-of-canada
- ↑ "NBL Canada Announces New Team in Montreal". NBL Canada. October 26, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- ↑ "Power Basketball Relocates To Mississauga". NBL Canada. April 26, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ http://pointstreaksites.com/view/nblcanada/nbl-canada-headlines/news_76037
- ↑ "The National Basketball League of Canada Approves Ottawa". NBL Canada. November 13, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ↑ "Montreal Jazz to Sit Out 2013–2014 Season". NBL Canada. August 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Ottawa SkyHawks kicked out of National Basketball League of Canada". CBC.ca. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ↑ http://www.610cktb.com/news/2015/04/08/niagara-to-get-its-own-nbl-canada-team
- ↑ "Cape Breton Highlanders". Cape Breton Highlanders. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Halifax Rainmen file for bankruptcy". Global News. 2015-07-06.
- ↑ "Professional basketball returning to Halifax for 2015-16 NBLC season with local ownership" (PDF). Halifax Hurricanes. 2015-09-03.
- ↑ "Recap of the 2012 NBL Canada Owners' Meeting". NBL Canada. June 28, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
External links
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