2018–19 NBL Canada season
Sports season
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The 2018–19 NBL Canada season is the eighth season of the National Basketball League of Canada. The regular season ran from November 15, 2018, to March 31, 2019.
| 2018–19 NBL Canada season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball League of Canada |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | November 15, 2018 – March 31, 2019 |
| Games | 40 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Miles Seward |
| Picked by | Moncton Magic |
| Regular Season | |
| Top seed | Moncton Magic |
| Season MVP | Braylon Rayson |
| Playoffs | |
| Atlantic champions | Moncton Magic |
| Central champions | St. John's Edge |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Moncton Magic |
| Runners-up | St. John's Edge |
League changes
The league originally intended to move the St. John's Edge to the Atlantic Division following the addition of the expansion Sudbury Five. However, after the NBL lost the Niagara River Lions and was back to four teams in Ontario, the league decided to play as a single table for the regular season schedule to ease the Edge's travel. The league still uses each team's overall record in a divisional table for playoff qualification as done in previous seasons.[1]
Offseason coaching changes
- The Cape Breton Highlanders hired Bernardo Fitz-Gonzalez, a former Colombia national basketball team player,[2] after former coach Rob Spon left the team after one season.
- The St. John's Edge hired Doug Plumb after former coach Jeff Dunlap left to become an assistant at California State University, Northridge.[3][4]
- The Sudbury Five hired Logan Stutz as its inaugural head coach and general manager.[5]
Midseason coaching changes
- The London Lightning fired Keith Vassell following a 4–4 start to the season after leading the team to a championship the previous season. He was replaced by Elliott Etherington.[6]
- The St. John's Edge head coach Doug Plumb resigned in March 2019 and was replaced by assistant Steven Marcus as interim head coach.[7]
Teams
| 2018-19 National Basketball League of Canada | |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | Cape Breton Highlanders | Sydney, Nova Scotia | Centre 200 | 5,000 | |
| Halifax Hurricanes | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Scotiabank Centre | 10,500 | ||
| Island Storm | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | Eastlink Centre | 4,000 | ||
| Moncton Magic | Moncton, New Brunswick | Avenir Centre | 8,800 | ||
| Saint John Riptide | Saint John, New Brunswick | Harbour Station | 6,603 | ||
| Central | KW Titans | Kitchener, Ontario | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | 7,312 | |
| London Lightning | London, Ontario | Budweiser Gardens | 9,000 | ||
| St. John's Edge | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | Mile One Centre | 6,750 | ||
| Sudbury Five | Sudbury, Ontario | Sudbury Community Arena | 4,640 | ||
| Windsor Express | Windsor, Ontario | WFCU Centre | 6,500 | ||
Map of teams
Atlantic Division 
Central Division
Regular season
Standings as of 31 March 2019:[8]
| Atlantic Division | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z — Moncton Magic | 40 | 27 | 13 | .675 | — | 18–7 |
| x — Halifax Hurricanes | 40 | 25 | 15 | .625 | 2 | 13–11 |
| x — Cape Breton Highlanders | 40 | 19 | 21 | .475 | 8 | 13–9 |
| x — Saint John Riptide | 40 | 17 | 23 | .425 | 10 | 10–15 |
| Island Storm | 40 | 12 | 28 | .300 | 15 | 7–19 |
| Central Division | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c — London Lightning | 40 | 22 | 18 | .550 | — | 16–11 |
| x — St. John's Edge | 40 | 21 | 19 | .525 | 1 | 7–7 |
| x — Sudbury Five | 40 | 21 | 19 | .525 | 1 | 14–14 |
| x — KW Titans | 40 | 19 | 21 | .475 | 3 | 14–12 |
| Windsor Express | 40 | 17 | 23 | .425 | 5 | 10–17 |
Notes
- z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
- c – Clinched home court advantage for the division playoffs
- x – Clinched playoff spot
Attendance
As of the end of the regular season
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. John's Edge | 75,884 | 6,080 | 2,156 | 3,794 | +11.6% |
| 2 | London Lightning | 60,799 | 8,024 | 1,324 | 3,040 | −27.7% |
| 3 | Halifax Hurricanes | 41,894 | 4,473 | 1,123 | 2,095 | +7.0% |
| 4 | Sudbury Five1 | 40,952 | 3,480 | 1,299 | 2,048 | n/a |
| 5 | Saint John Riptide | 31,453 | 4,012 | 471 | 1,573 | −16.5% |
| 6 | KW Titans | 26,022 | 5,036 | 499 | 1,301 | +2.9% |
| 7 | Cape Breton Highlanders | 24,762 | 4,108 | 576 | 1,238 | −8.6% |
| 8 | Island Storm | 24,482 | 1,825 | 899 | 1,224 | −34.7% |
| 9 | Windsor Express | 23,056 | 1,624 | 650 | 1,153 | +18.3% |
| 10 | Moncton Magic | 23,048 | 1,964 | 862 | 1,152 | +7.6% |
| League total | 372,352 | 8,024 | 471 | 1,862 | −7.1% |
Playoffs
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBL Canada Finals | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Moncton | 3 | ||||||||||||
| A4 | Saint John | 0 | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Moncton | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Atlantic Division | ||||||||||||||
| A2 | Halifax | 3 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | Halifax | 3 | ||||||||||||
| A3 | Cape Breton | 2 | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Moncton | 4 | ||||||||||||
| C2 | St. John's | 0 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | London | 2 | ||||||||||||
| C4 | Kitchener–Waterloo | 3 | ||||||||||||
| C4 | Kitchener–Waterloo | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Central Division | ||||||||||||||
| C2 | St. John's | 4 | ||||||||||||
| C2 | St. John's | 3 | ||||||||||||
| C3 | Sudbury | 2 | ||||||||||||
Bold Series winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
NBL Canada Finals
May 9 7:00 pm |
| St. John's Edge 94, Moncton Magic 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–19, 16–21, 31–29, 29–34 | ||
| Pts: Murphy Burnatowski 30 Rebs: Jarryn Skeete 9 Asts: Carl English 5 |
Pts: Trey Kell 29 Rebs: Trey Kell, Billy White 9 each Asts: Trey Kell, Billy White 8 each | |
| Moncton leads series 1–0 | ||
May 11 7:00 pm |
| St. John's Edge 100, Moncton Magic 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–19, 21–27, 25–25, 23–36 | ||
| Pts: Desmond Lee 26 Rebs: Glen Davis, Desmond Lee 7 Asts: Glen Davis 7 |
Pts: Trey Kell 29 Rebs: Jason Calliste, Trey Kell 9 each Asts: Billy White 8 | |
| Moncton leads series 2–0 | ||
May 13 7:00 pm |
| Moncton Magic 103, St. John's Edge 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 22–21, 21–28, 33–20 | ||
| Pts: Trey Kell 20 Rebs: Trey Kell 11 Asts: Billy White 8 |
Pts: Carl English 22 Rebs: Carl English 6 Asts: Junior Cadougan 5 | |
| Moncton leads series 3–0 | ||
May 16 7:00 pm |
| Moncton Magic 130, St. John's Edge 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 40–20, 32–30, 29–39, 29–31 | ||
| Pts: Trey Kell 41 Rebs: Trey Kell 9 Asts: Trey Kell 6 |
Pts: Desmond Lee 43 Rebs: Desmond Lee 13 Asts: Glen Davis 5 | |
| Moncton wins series 4–0 | ||
Statistics
As of games played 31 March 2019
Individual statistic leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Braylon Rayson | Sudbury Five | 25.0 |
| Rebounds per game | Bryce Washington | Saint John Riptide | 11.25 |
| Assists per game | Cliff Clinkscales | Halifax Hurricanes | 6.80 |
| Blocks per game | Ty Walker | Windsor Express | 2.23 |
| Three pointers | Jaylen Bland | Sudbury Five | 4.54 |
Individual game highs
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Braylon Rayson | Sudbury Five | 49 |
| Rebounds | Obinna Oleka | St. John's Edge | 24 |
| Assists | Cliff Clinkscales | Halifax Hurricanes | 18 |
Awards
Player of the Week award
Coach of the Month award
| Month | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| November | Joe Salerno | Moncton Magic |
| December | Bernado Fitz-Gonzalez | Cape Breton Highlanders |
| January | Bill Jones | Windsor Express |
| February | Mike Leslie | Halifax Hurricanes |
| March | Joe Salerno (2) | Moncton Magic |
End-of-season awards
Source:[9]
- Most Valuable Player: Braylon Rayson, Sudbury Five
- Canadian Player of the Year: Guillaume Boucard, Island Storm
- Newcomer of the Year: Jaylen Bland, Sudbury Five
- Defensive Player of the Year: Rhamel Brown, Halifax Hurricanes
- Rookie of the Year: Frank Bartley, Saint John Riptide
- Sixth Man of the Year: Jamal Reynolds, Cape Breton Highlanders
- Most Improved Player of the Year: Junior Cadougan, St. John's Edge
- Coach of the Year: Joe Salerno, Moncton Magic
Draft
The 2018–19 NBL Canada Draft and Combine was held on August 25–26.[10]
