The Tri-City Chinook were a

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

team based in

Kennewick, Washington Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima R ...

. They played 4 seasons in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA), the defunct development league for the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). The team reached the playoffs in every season they played, but never made it past the second round.

History

In June 1991, the CBA approved the re-location of the

Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets The Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets were a professional basketball team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 1988 to 1991. They played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketball Associat ...

Tri-Cities, Washington The Tri-Cities are three closely linked cities ( Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland) at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia Rivers in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington. The cities border one another, making the Tri-Cities se ...

. The team had their headquarters at 7110 West Quinault in Kennewick and played at the Tri-Cities Coliseum, sharing the venue with the

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center (Kennewick), Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City A ...

, an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

. The Chinook had a state rivalry with the

Yakima Sun Kings The Yakima SunKings are a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Associa ...

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

, and were affiliated with two

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

teams, the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

and the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. At the 1991 CBA draft in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

the Chinook used their first pick (6th overall) on Chancellor Nichols, a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

from

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

. Under coach Steve Hayes, the team played in the Northern Division and finished their first season with a 29–27 record, which allowed them to qualify for the first round of the CBA postseason: the team lost to the

Wichita Falls Texans The Wichita Falls Texans were a minor league basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1988 to 1994. The team was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and played their games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, located on the campus of Midwest ...

102–90 in a single elimination game. The team's scoring leader was center

Wayne Tinkle Wayne Francis Tinkle II (born January 26, 1966) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers men's team of the Pac-12 Conference. Prior to his arrival in Corvallis in 2014, he was the head coach for ...

, who averaged a double-double with 16.6 points and 10.6 rebounds over 55 games. In their second season the Chinook were moved to the newly formed Western Division of the National Conference, where they were competing against the Wichita Falls Texans, the

Oklahoma City Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were th ...

and the Yakima Sun Kings. The team record worsened and after a 13–19 start, coach Steve Hayes was replaced by Calvin Duncan, who also played as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. Duncan improved the record, personally finishing 14–10 and the team record at the end of the regular season was 27–29, which again qualified the Chinook for the postseason. In the 1992–93 playoffs they were eliminated 3–1 by the

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball Ass ...

. Willie Simms, a forward from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, was the team scoring leader with an average of 17.3 points over 53 games: he was also the leading rebounder with a total of 366, while Tinkle had the better average with 9.7. A. J. Wynder was the assists leader with an average of 8.7 per game. In November 1993 the Chinook acquired guard

Alphonso Ford Alphonso Gene Ford (October 31, 1971 – September 4, 2004) was an American professional basketball player. A 1.92 m (6 ft 3 in) tall, 98 kg (216 lbs.) shooting guard, he was one of the greatest scorers in college basketball histor ...

, who had been drafted in the 5th round (71st overall) of the 1993 draft by the Rapid City Thrillers, trading

Jay Guidinger Jay Patrick Guidinger (born August 18, 1969) is a retired American professional basketball player who played his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career for the Cleveland Cavaliers until retiring due to injuries. Playing career A 6'1 ...

and a 7th round pick in the 1994 draft to the Thrillers. Ford, one of the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

all-time top scorers with

Mississippi Valley State Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi.led the CBA in steals with a 2.7 average, and the Chinook had the best season in their history, finishing with a 34–22 record, winning the Western Division title. Coach Calvin Duncan was named the CBA Coach of the Year for the 1993–94 season, with A. J. Wynder being player-assistant coach. The team qualified for the playoffs and faced the

Omaha Racers The Omaha Racers were an American minor league basketball team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The franchise played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1997. The team's franchise liage started in 1982 as the Wisconsin Flyers. ...

: after leading the series 2–0, they lost three games in a row and were ultimately eliminated after a 117–110 loss in the final game. In the 1994–95 CBA season Ford further improved his scoring average with 24 points per game, while Simms contributed with 19.8 points, and forward Geoff Lear was the top rebounder with 9.4 per game. The team finished the regular season with a 32–24 record, reaching the playoffs for the fourth season in a row: this time they were able to eliminate the Rapid City Thrillers in the first round (2–0 in the series) and faced the state rivals Yakima Sun Kings in the second round. The Chinook were eliminated 3–1. The team had ranked 6th in the CBA in home game attendance in their last season with 119,493. After the end of the season, the team was disbanded in May 1995.

Season-by-season records

All-time roster

* Michael Anderson *

Milton Bell Milton Sylvester Bell (born August 21, 1970) is an American former basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Georgetown Hoyas, he went on to play professionally in Europe and South America. High school Bell played basketball at ...

* David Booth *

Mark Buford Mark Buford (born October 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils for three seasons. Buford was selected by the Phoenix Suns as the 49th overall pick in the 1993 NBA ...

*Jeffty Connelly *Willie Davis *Neil Derrick *

Terry Dozier Terry Linnard Dozier (born June 29, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played high school basketball at Dunbar High in Baltimore and later attended the University of South Carolina, where he played from 198 ...

* Calvin Duncan *Eric Dunn * Daren Engellant *

Jo Jo English Stephen "Jo Jo" English (born February 4, 1970) is an American professional basketball player who starred at the University of South Carolina in the early 1990s and later played parts of three seasons for the National Basketball Association's Ch ...

J. J. Eubanks John Hugh Eubanks, known as J. J. Eubanks (born November 13, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6-foot-6 guard/forward, he played his first two years of college basketball at Sullivan College in the junior college circ ...

Roy Fisher Roy Fisher (11 June 1930 – 21 March 2017) was an English poet and jazz pianist. His poetry shows an openness to both European and American modernist influences, while remaining grounded in the experience of living in the English Midlands. ...

*Pervires Greene *

Jerome Henderson Jerome Virgil Henderson (born August 8, 1969) is the current defensive backs coach for the New York Giants, and a former American football cornerback for the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets of the ...

* Phil Henderson *Ric Herrin *

Michael Holton Michael David Holton (born August 4, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player, and current television studio analyst for the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA. Born in Seattle, Washington, he played college basketball at Univers ...

*Derrick Johnson * Ken Johnson *

Steffond Johnson Steffond O'Shea Johnson (born November 4, 1962) is a retired American basketball player. He was a 6'8" 240 lb. forward and played one season in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers, by whom he was selected in the 1986 NBA draft (5th round, 1 ...

Jackie Jones Jacqueline Margarete Jones (born 10 February 1966) is a Welsh politician, barrister, and academic. She served as the Labour Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wales from 2019 to 2020. She taught law at Cardiff Law School, Cardiff ...

Ozell Jones Ozell "Hoppy" Jones III (November 20, 1960 – September 7, 2006) was an American professional basketball player. He was listed at and weighed . Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, his family soon moved to Compton, California, and later to Long B ...

Geoff Lear Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...

*Al Lorenzen *

Roy Marble Roy Lane Marble, Jr. (December 13, 1966 – September 11, 2015) was an American professional basketball player, 6'6" tall, who played as a swingman (shooting guard/small forward). After playing four seasons at the University of Iowa from 1985 t ...

*Gary Massey *Charles McCovery *

Darnell Mee LaFarrell Darnell Mee (born February 11, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Western Kentucky before being selected by the Go ...

Isaiah Morris Isaiah Butch Morris (born April 2, 1969) is a retired American professional basketball player. Morris played 25 games for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1992-93 season. He played college basketball for S ...

* Richard Morton *

Andrew Moten Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

*Chancellor Nichols *

Kenny Payne Kenneth Victor Payne (born November 25, 1966) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Louisville. Prior to being hired at Louisville, Payne spent two seasons as an assis ...

*Alan Pollard *

Brian Quinnett Brian Ralph Quinnett (born May 30, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'8" small forward, Quinnett played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Upon graduation from Washington State University, Q ...

* Robert Reid *Terry Ross *

Donald Royal Donald Adam Royal (born May 22, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player, a 6'8" small forward. He played collegiate basketball at the University of Notre Dame, and was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third round (52nd ...

*Clifford Scales *Willie Simms * McKinley Singleton * Jeff Stern * Barry Stevens *Kevin Stevenson *

Lamont Strothers William Lamont Strothers (born May 10, 1968) is a retired American professional basketball player. Born in Nansemond County, Virginia Strothers played college basketball for Christopher Newport. He was selected in the 1991 NBA draft and had sh ...

*Michael Tait *

Andy Toolson Andrew Kent Toolson (born January 19, 1966) is an American retired professional basketball player. A shooting guard-small forward, he played college basketball at BYU Cougars men's basketball, BYU Early life and college years Born in Chicago, ...

Kenny Travis Kenny Travis (born February 6, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player. Career A junior college standout, Travis played two years at New Mexico State from the 1985–86 to 1986–87 season. In his final year, he averaged 20.2 p ...

* Jim Usevitch *

Jeff Webster Jeffrey Tyrone Webster (born February 19, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. Webster played collegiately for the University of Oklahoma, where he scored 2,258 points and collected 781 rebounds. Webster was selected 40t ...

*Harold Wright *

Howard Wright Howard Gregory Wright (born December 20, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in San Diego, California, he is a 6'8" (203 cm) 220 lb (100 kg) power forward (basketball), power forward and played collegia ...

* A. J. Wynder * Perry Young ::''Sources''

Awards

* CBA steals leader: Michael Anderson (1993–94) *CBA Rookie of the Year: Alphonso Ford (1993–94) *CBA Coach of the Year: Calvin Duncan (1993–94)

References

{{reflist Basketball teams in Washington (state) 1991 establishments in Washington (state) Continental Basketball Association teams Sports in Washington (state) Basketball teams established in 1991 1995 disestablishments in Washington (state) Sports clubs disestablished in 1995 es:Tri-City Chinook it:Tri-City Chinook