'The NBL will come out of this stronger than ever': Partnership with American League allows NBL Canada to resume play in 2022

National Basketball League ready to rebound The NBLC has released its 2022 schedule and it includes games against three U.S. based teams. CTV London’s Brent Lale reports.

London, Ont. — There will be only four National Basketball League of Canada teams standing when the league celebrates a 10th anniversary season in February 2022.

With the entire Atlantic Division wiped out next season for various reasons, the NBLC had to get creative to survive.

A partnership was formed with The Basketball League (TBL) in the United States, which has more than 45 teams and is owned by former NBL Commissioner David Magley.

The London Lightning, Windsor Express, Sudbury Five and Kitchener-Waterloo Titans are all that remain from Ontario. The teams that will take part in the inter-league arrangement are the Flint United, Lansing Pharaohs, Jamestown Jackals, Kokomo BobKats, Syracuse Stallions and the Albany Patroons.

"Sometimes things start off so innocently like wouldn't if be cool if? Or what about this?" said Audley Stephenson, NBLC's vice president of basketball operations. "All of a sudden it blossoms into something fantastic, and in this case, I think you really are going to see something special."

There will be 24 crossover games, which will count in the standings of both leagues.

"It allows them a season to take a deep breath and go okay, let's figure this out," said Magley. "I think that the NBL is going to come out of this stronger than ever."

Magley describes TBL as a showcase league, and uses London Lightning players Xavier Moon and AJ Gaines as guys who started in TBL and have moved onto higher levels.

"It's a win because NBLC is a great league," said Magley. "They pay better than we do and they all play in great venues. So for our guys, we see it as a step up when they go to NBL Canada. So for usk every time we can help a young man fulfill his dream of playing abroad, which is across the border to them, we're excited."

Due to COVID-19, the London Lightning will have been out of business for nearly two years when they resume play in February. With basketball continuing to gain popularity in Canada, fans have been constantly asking Lightning ownership when they can expect a return. Now that has been answered.

"After 10 years, this is exciting because it'll bring a lot of new talent to the league," said Mark Frijia, general manager of the Lightning. "We are already looking at announcing a coach probably here in the next couple of weeks and I would say it should be a familiar face for London Lightning fans. And on top of that, some players should be signed right behind that."

They expectation is that Doug Plumb will be back behind the bench next season.

While the NBLC has seen teams dropping out, the rival Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) has actually announced two new expansion franchises in Scarborough and Montreal.

Stephenson says this partnership is not about competing with the CEBL, but more about adapting to the restrictions in certain provinces.

"The last 18 months you saw the world pivot, or shift or all these things were used to talk about what can you do in response," said Stephenson. "We weren't sure what those capacity limits would look like, so we very much in responsive mode. It's great to get back on the court and show off our product because we are proud of what we have and we really can't wait to get going again."

As the NBLC moves toward its 10th year, the goal is to find more cost-effective ways for franchises to survive. If the Atlantic Division teams are to return the following year, the partnership with TBL could go forward to help the teams in Eastern Canada.

"We can be anything from just a stopgap to help them do this year, to where they blow it up next year someplace else, to always compliment that is an option for them," said Magley.

"If we get two or three teams in our Northeast and in Maine, all of a sudden we start making the Maritimes come back a little bit quicker. We have three or four teams up that way and help [we could] them where they don't have to travel all the way to Ontario to always play extra games."

Stephenson agrees that there are unlimited possibilities. "What that could mean or what it does mean -- that we don't know,” he said. "We're very much focused on what we have in front of us in this moment right now. We've got a lot to celebrate and be proud of, and the future will work itself out."