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Introducing the National Basketball League of Canada

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Photo: Kevin Jarrold

In 1995, the National Basketball Association was introduced the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors. It was the first time that Canadian fans could see a major basketball team play right at home. Canada was long known as hockey territory, but many sports fans were already starting to move away from the norm and into the world of hoops.

Basketball grew like a wildfire, with stars like Vince Carter and then Chris Bosh making a name for themselves in Toronto. Fans embraced the new movement, but there was still one thing missing: Canada's very own pro basketball league. Sam Katz, who would later become mayor of Winnipeg, took a shot with the National Basketball League, which spanned six provinces back in the early 90's, but it sputtered on for just two years before hitting the grave.

It wasn't until 2011 that two team owners in the Premier Basketball League, a minor league with teams from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, decided that they would use their experience to create the ultimate Canadian league. The PBL, they felt, was laced with issues, starting with the referees and the league's corrupt ownership. Ian McCarthy of the Saint John Mill Rats and Andre Levingston from the Halifax Rainmen led three teams out of the PBL. Their decision inspired the creation of franchises in both Ontario and the maritime area.

The National Basketball League of Canada, as it was called, got off to a quick start. Thousands of people watched online and in-person as the Oshawa Power drafted NCAA Division III champion Morgan Lewis as the first pick in league history. The NBL Canada even pursued and succeeded in attracting a handful of low-level NBA players during the 2011 lockout. Attendance was an inevitable issue for many teams, but fans flocked the John Labatt Centre to watch the London Lightning compete. The Lightning would win the league's first two championships under former New York Knicks star Micheal Ray Richardson.

McCarthy and Levingston were on-point in the owners they pursued. The NBL Canada was become the new standard for minor league hoops, and competitors were struggling to come close to it. The league was touted by many as the next best thing in North America to the NBA D-League. By the next season, it expanded to another city, and the Windsor Express were formed. Star talent was never an issue. The Mill Rats had former UMass three-point ace Anthony Anderson while the Moncton Miracles signed MVP material in Devin Sweetney.

But come their third season in operation, things were not looking so good for the NBLC. As it rose among the ranks of sports leagues, its referees took plenty of criticism. With hardly any money left to spend, players weren't getting the dollars they needed, and the NBL couldn't even pay its bills. Commissioner Paul Riley, caught in the middle of it all, chose to resign, and the league was left without a leader. Year after year, teams were getting the boot: this time it was the SkyHawks of the Canadian capital in Ottawa.

However, it was in the following season where two teams nearly dealt the death blow to the NBL Canada. Every altercation that took place in a game further eroded the league's image. But what happened at the 2015 Finals was a disaster in every way. It was a dirty series, with sucker punches, constant trash-talk, and a number of injuries. Even so, the Windsor Express and Halifax Rainmen took it to a seventh game, and fans from both sides were on the edges of their seats in anticipation. But the game would never happen. At the morning shootaround, the tensions between the two teams culminated into an all-out brawl. Chairs were thrown, fistfights broke out, and the Rainmen left the stadium without hopes of returning. The Express were handed the title without even having to remove their practice uniforms.

After the incident, the league was in emergency mode. Brampton A's head coach, David Magley, was assigned to take care of the mess, and just about every single player on the Halifax squad was fined thousands of dollars and suspended indefinitely. Rainmen head coach Josep Claros was smacked with a lifetime ban from the league, but only two members of the other team were punished. Halifax's owner, Andre Levingston, was under fire from all sides. That offseason, Magley was announced as league commissioner, and countless new rules were put into place regarding violence and professionalism.

Currently, in its fifth season, the NBL Canada has been thriving under the new commissioner's watch. The Rainmen would go bankrupt and return as the Hurricanes for the next season. Although most players from that team have steered clear from the Canadian league, they have been offered reinstatement. After losing the Mississauga Power to Raptors 905 of the D-League, local ownership has stepped up in creating more expansion teams and stabilizing existing ones. Officiating remains a subject of denunciation, while the league has had trouble expanding its brand. The NBL seems to be heading in the right direction once again, but there is definitely some more work to do.

This is a FanPost, not the work of the author of Ridiculous Upside. The People speak! Questions or comments about this post should be addressed in the comments. To issue a complaint about this FanPost, please email ridiculousupside (at) gmail (dot) com.

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