The 2018–19 NBL Canada season is the eighth season of the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franchis ...

. 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 The St. John's Edge were a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, that competed in the National Basketball League of Canada. From 2017 to 2020, they played home games at Mile One Centre. They were ...

to the Atlantic Division following the addition of the expansion

Sudbury Five The Sudbury Five are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Sudbury, Ontario that play in the Basketball Super League (BSL). The team is owned by Sudbury Wolves Sports and play at the Sudbury Community Arena. History The team was orig ...

. However, after the NBL lost the

Niagara River Lions The Niagara River Lions are a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. Catharines, Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. From 2015 to 2018, they were members of the Natio ...

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 Robert Spon (born July 4, 1962) is an American professional basketball coach, most recently serving as the head coach for the Cape Breton Highlanders (basketball), Cape Breton Highlanders of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada). H ...

left the team after one season. *The

hired

Doug Plumb Doug Plumb (born August 5, 1988) is a Canadian former professional basketball player. As of 2019, he is the head coach for the London Lightning of the National Basketball League of Canada. He is a 3 time champion of the NBLC and holds the second ...

after former coach Jeff Dunlap left to become an assistant at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

. *The

hired Logan Stutz as its inaugural head coach and general manager.

Midseason coaching changes

*The

London Lightning The London Lightning is a Canadian professional basketball team based in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, with home games at Canada Life Place. The team competes in the Basketball Super League (North America), Basketball Super League. History The ...

fired

Keith Vassell Keith Christophe Vassell (born 28 July 1971) is a Canadian-Icelandic basketball coach and a former member of the Canadian national basketball team. He played seven seasons in the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla, winning the national championship in ...

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

head coach

resigned in March 2019 and was replaced by assistant Steven Marcus as interim head coach.

Teams

Map of teams

Regular season

Standings as of 31 March 2019: 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

Statistics

''As of games played 31 March 2019''

Individual statistic leaders

Individual game highs

Awards

Player of the Week award

Coach of the Month award

End-of-season awards

Source: *

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

: Braylon Rayson,

Canadian Player of the Year The Canada Soccer Player of the Year award celebrates Canada's top male and female soccer players in recognition of their achievements with both the national teams and their respective clubs. Since 2007, voting has been conducted by Canadian coac ...

: Guillaume Boucard, Island Storm * Newcomer of the Year: Jaylen Bland,

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

: Rhamel Brown, Halifax Hurricanes * Rookie of the Year:

Frank Bartley Frank Bartley IV (born February 25, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for PAOK of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). He played college basketball for the BYU Cougars and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. Early life Bartley was born ...

Saint John Riptide The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) in the Atlantic Division. ...

* Sixth Man of the Year: Jamal Reynolds, Cape Breton Highlanders *Most Improved Player of the Year:

Junior Cadougan Junior Carlisle Cadougan (born May 7, 1990) is a Canadian former professional basketball player. Cadougan spent his college career at Marquette University. Following his graduation from college, he played professionally in Europe. He also represen ...

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

: Joe Salerno, Moncton Magic

Draft

The 2018–19 NBL Canada Draft and Combine was held on August 25–26.

References

External links

NBL Canada website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 NBL Canada season National Basketball League of Canada seasons NBL Canada season