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.
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.
Offseason coaching changes The Cape Breton Highlanders hired Bernardo Fitz-Gonzalez, a former Colombia national basketball team player, 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. The Sudbury Five hired Logan Stutz as its inaugural head coach and general manager.
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. The St. John's Edge head coach Doug Plumb resigned in March 2019 and was replaced by assistant Steven Marcus as interim head coach.
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
Regular season Standings as of 31 March 2019: Atlantic Division z — Moncton Magic 40 27 13 — x — Halifax Hurricanes 40 25 15 2 x — Cape Breton Highlanders 40 19 21 8 x — Saint John Riptide 40 17 23 10 Island Storm 40 12 28 15
Central Division c — London Lightning 40 22 18 — x — St. John's Edge 40 21 19 1 x — Sudbury Five 40 21 19 1 x — KW Titans 40 19 21 3 Windsor Express 40 17 23 5 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
Playoffs
Bold Series winner Italic Team with home-court advantage NBL Canada Finals
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 For gamesin week endingPlayer of the weekCanadian player of the weekPlayerTeamPlayerTeam November 18, 2018 Jaylen Bland Sudbury Five Gentrey Thomas Moncton Magic November 25, 2018 Bruce Massey Cape Breton Highlanders Jamal Reynolds Cape Breton Highlanders December 2, 2018 Gabe Freeman Halifax Hurricanes Tyler Scott Island Storm December 9, 2018 Maurice Jones St. John's Edge Joel Friesen KW Titans December 16, 2018 Doug Herring Jr. Moncton Magic Grandy Glaze Sudbury Five December 23, 2018 Joel Kindred Halifax Hurricanes Aaron Redpath Cape Breton Highlanders December 30, 2018 Bruce Massey (2) Cape Breton Highlanders Garrett Williamson London Lightning January 6, 2019 Mike Poole Halifax Hurricanes Junior Cadougan St. John's Edge January 13, 2019 Bruce Massey (3) Cape Breton Highlanders Guillaume Boucard Island Storm January 20, 2019 Juan Patillo Windsor Express Garrett Williamson (2) London Lightning January 27, 2019 Cory Dixon Sudbury Five Tyrrel Tate Windsor Express February 3, 2019 Glen Davis St. John's Edge Terry Thomas Halifax Hurricanes February 10, 2019 Mike Poole (2) Halifax Hurricanes Mamadou Gueye Sudbury Five February 17, 2019 Frank Bartley Saint John Riptide Junior Cadougan (2) St. John's Edge February 24, 2019 Trey Kell Moncton Magic Junior Cadougan (3) St. John's Edge March 3, 2019 Braylon Rayson Sudbury Five Guillaume Boucard (2) Island Storm March 10, 2019 Chris Jones Windsor Express Yohanny Dalembert Sudbury Five March 17, 2019 Frank Bartley (2) Saint John Riptide Alex Campbell Island Storm March 24, 2019 Braylon Rayson (2) Sudbury Five Terry Thomas (2) Halifax Hurricanes March 31, 2019 Marcus Capers London Lightning Jamal Reynolds (2) Cape Breton Highlanders
Coach of the Month award MonthPlayerTeam 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: 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.
Player Team 11Miles SewardMoncton MagicHarcum College12Aaron JacksonKW TitansEast Carolina13Charles BoozerCape Breton HighlandersIowa State14Brent ArringtonSaint John RiptideMorehead State15Darnell LandonSaint John RiptideMayville State16Gabe McCraySaint John RiptideSouth Carolina State17Edward AsamoahMoncton MagicBridgeport18Funsho DimejiSudbury FiveDurham19Chris EarlySt. John's EdgeChattanooga110Jonathan WallaceLondon LightningGuelph111Davon EleyHalifax HurricanesLakeland21Miroslav JaksicWindsor ExpressOklahoma Christian22Matthew HartKW TitansGeorge Washington23Benjamin Batts Jr.Cape Breton HighlandersLSU–Shreveport24Marcus JonesCape Breton HighlandersWindsor25David AtkinsonSaint John RiptideSalem26Daniel DooleyWindsor ExpressGuelph27Aaron EdisonSt. John's EdgeSanta Monica28Jameel WilliamsonLondon LightningSt. Francis Xavier29Donell TuffHalifax HurricanesAlbany State
References
External links NBL Canada website