| Saskatoon Slam | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball League |
| Established | 1990 |
| Folded | 1994 |
| History | Saskatchewan Storm (WBL) (1990–92) Saskatoon Slam (NBL) (1992–94) |
| Arena | Saskatchewan Place |
| Location | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
| Team colours | |
| Championships | 1 (1993) |
The Saskatoon Slam were a Canadian professional basketball franchise based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that played in the National Basketball League in 1993 and 1994.[1]
Team history
Saskatchewan Storm (WBL)
The Slam were founded in 1990 as the Saskatchewan Storm of the World Basketball League (WBL). The Storm narrowly lost their first game, 117–115 against the Las Vegas Silver Streaks, in front of a record crowd of more than 8,000.[2] The team did not win a championship but had some notable alumni, including Thomas Lyles, the father of Sacramento Kings player Trey Lyles, and current UC Davis Aggies men's basketball coach Jim Les. The WBL folded before the conclusion of the 1992 season, and the Canadian franchises opted to create a new national league, the National Basketball League (NBL). It was then that the Storm changed their name to the Saskatoon Slam.
Saskatoon Slam (NBL)
The Slam were a success in the only full NBL season. On 8 September 1993, they defeated the Cape Breton Breakers by a score of 109–107 in the fourth game of the championship final to win the league title.[3] This was the province's first professional basketball championship, and the only one until the Saskatchewan Rattlers won the inaugural Canadian Elite Basketball League title in 2019.[4]
The NBL struggled financially–for example, all games of the 1993 finals were played in Saskatoon to reduce travel costs–and the league folded in the middle of the 1994 season, along with the Slam.[2] This left the city and province without professional basketball until briefly hosting the Saskatchewan Hawks, from 2000 to 2002.[3]
Season by season results
| = Indicates League Championship |
Legend: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, GBL = Games Behind Leader
Saskatchewan Storm (WBL)
| Season[5] | GP | W | L | GBL | Finish | Playoffs |
| 1990 | 46 | 19 | 27 | 19 | 6th | Lost first-round to Las Vegas Silver Streaks, 2–0 |
| 1991 | 51 | 25 | 26 | 12 | 6th | Won first-round over Youngstown Pride, 2–0
Lost semi-final to Calgary 88's, 2–0 |
| 1992 | 33 | 12 | 21 | 14 | 7th | None–League folded on 1 August 1992 |
Saskatoon Slam (NBL)
| Season[6] | GP | W | L | GBL | Finish | Playoffs |
| 1993 | 46 | 25 | 21 | 5 | 3rd | Won semi-final over Winnipeg Thunder, 3–2 Won finals over Cape Breton Breakers 3–1 |
| 1994 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 4th | None–League folded on 9 July 1994 |
All-time Slam roster
| Name | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Date of birth | Current/last known team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Blackwell | 11 | F | 6'7 | 257 | CD Universidad de Los Lagos (Chile) (2011) | |
| Fred Cofield | 4 | G | 6'3 | 190 | January 4, 1962 | Barangay Ginebra (Philippines) (1997) |
| Gary Collier | G | October 8, 1971 | ||||
| Mario Donaldson | 34 | G/F | 6'4 | 195 | Marinos de Anzotegui (Venezuela) (2001) | |
| Jerome Gaines | 1 | G | 6'4 | 190 | ||
| Angelo Hamilton | 23 | G/F | 6'5 | 200 | Dart Killester (Ireland) (2002) | |
| Richard Lovelace | 23 | G | 6'6 | 200 | Brandon Bobcats (CIS) (1999) | |
| Roy Marble | 30 | F | 6'6 | 190 | December 13, 1966 | |
| Brian Martin | F | 6'9 | 212 | August 18, 1962 | ||
| Jared Miller | 45 | F | 6'8 | 225 | Porto Ferpinta (Portugal) (2000) | |
| James Moses | ||||||
| Darren Morningstar | 50 | C | 6'10 | 235 | April 22, 1969 | Grand Rapids Hoops (CBA) (1999) |
| Michael Sims | 1 | G | 5'11 | 170 | ||
| McKinley Singleton | 5 | G | 6'4 | 195 | October 29, 1961 | |
| John Spencer | 44 | F | 6'8 | 233 | CBA] (Sichuan China) (1998) | |
| Greg Sutton | 20 | G | 6'2 | 170 | December 3, 1967 | Proteus DaNoi AEL (Cyprus) (2002) |
| Troy Truvillion | 20 | G | 6'4 | 185 | Basket Club Maritime Gravelines Dunkerque Grand Littoral (France) (2001) | |
| Sean Tyson | 22 | F | 6'7 | 220 | Winnipeg Cyclone (IBA) | |
| Dean Wiebe | 34 | G/F | 6'4 | 195 | ||
| Erik Wilson | 55 | C | 7'0 | 235 | Defensor Sporting Club (Uruguay) (2001) |
References
- ↑ Romuld, Darrell (2022-10-04). "What pro sports teams used to exist in Sask.?". CTV News. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- 1 2 Mitchell, Kevin (2018-05-03). "City sports checkered pro basketball history". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- 1 2 Mitchell, Kevin (2019-05-09). "After a long, long absence, pro hoops is back in Saskatoon". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ↑ Piller, Thomas (2019-08-26). "Saskatchewan Rattlers capture 1st CEBL championship". Global News. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ↑ "History of the World Basketball League". Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ↑ "National Basketball League (1993-1994)". Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved 2023-07-20.