2015–16 NBL Canada season
The 2015–16 NBL Canada season was the fifth season of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC). The regular season began on December 26, 2015 and concluded on April 30, 2016. There were 40 total games played by each team, eight more than the previous year. The new expansion Niagara River Lions team are competing in their first season. The Halifax Hurricanes also began play, replacing the defunct Halifax Rainmen. During the offseason, the Mississauga Power folded to make way for Raptors 905 of the NBA Development League. Prior to the season, the league also enforced new policies to help improve its standard, including rules regarding sportsmanship, addressing the brawl that ended the 2015 NBL Canada Finals. The first regular season game featured the Island Storm and the Saint John Mill Rats.[1]
| 2015–16 NBL Canada season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | National Basketball League of Canada |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | December 26, 2015 – April 30, 2016 |
| Number of games | 160 (40 per team) |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Total attendance | 187,939 through 94 Games (1,999 per game) |
| TV partner(s) | EastLink TV, The Score, Rogers Media |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Erik Copes |
| Picked by | Niagara River Lions |
| Regular Season | |
| Top seed | Halifax Hurricanes |
| Top scorer | Logan Stutz (Niagara River Lions) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Halifax Hurricanes |
| Runners-up | London Lightning |
Transactions
Coaching changes
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 2014–15 season | 2015–16 season |
| Halifax Hurricanes | Hugo López | |
| London Lightning | Carlos Knox | Kyle Julius |
| Niagara River Lions | Ken Murray | |
| Orangeville A's | Dave Magley | Chris Thomas |
| Saint John Mill Rats | Julian King | Rob Spon |
| Windsor Express | Bill Jones | Tony Jones (interim) |
- On May 7, 2015, the Saint John Mill Rats hired Rob Spon as head coach.[2]
- On May 8, 2015, the NBL Canada suspended Windsor Express head coach Bill Jones for one season.[3]
- On May 29, 2015, the NBL Canada hired Brampton A's head coach Dave Magley as league commissioner.[4]
- On July 14, 2015, the Windsor Express hired Tony Jones as interim head coach, temporarily replacing his brother, Bill.[5]
- On July 29, 2015, the London Lightning fired head coach Carlos Knox after one year with the team.[6]
- On August 19, 2015, the London Lightning hired Kyle Julius as head coach.[7]
- On February 12, 2016, the Moncton Miracles hired Paul Mokeski to replace Serge Langis.
Preseason
Out-of-league
On October 23, 2015, Raptors 905 of the NBA D-League, who replaced the Mississauga Power earlier in the offseason, announced that they would be facing two NBL Canada teams—the Windsor Express and London Lightning—in their three-game preseason schedule. The team would visit the WFCU Centre to face the Express on the road and compete with the Lightning at their home arena, the Hershey Centre.[8][9] On November 5, Raptors 905 defeated the Express, 117–114. Adrian Moss, who scored 38 points, helped Windsor make a comeback after facing an 18-point deficit at halftime.[10] Raptors 905 picked up another win over the Lightning on November 9, after pulling off a 126–111 victory. Tyshawn Patterson, a draft combine addition, led London with 26 points.[11] The Windsor Express played another preseason game against the Lima Express of the Midwest Professional Basketball Association (MPBA) on December 13 at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor, pulling off the 108–82 win.[12] Maurice Bolden led Windsor with 24 points while Lima's Jody Hill put up a game-high 26 points.[13]
In-league
On December 18, 2015, the Halifax Hurricanes and Island Storm competed in a preseason game at Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, with the Hurricanes winning, 106–103.[14] Centre 200 is expected to be the home of the future NBL Canada team, the Cape Breton Highlanders. On December 19, the London Lightning defeated the Windsor Express, 97–87, behind 19 points from Chad Posthumus and Stephen Maxwell.[15] The Hurricanes also won their second preseason contest over the Moncton Miracles, that same day, pulling away for a 110–91 victory.[16] On December 21, the Miracles defeated the Storm, 115–110, in a fundraising game at Crandall University. Moncton's James Justice led all scorers with 27 points.[17] On December 23, the Saint John Mill Rats defeated the Miracles, 128–110, behind 33 points from Doug Herring, Jr. They set a franchise record for most fans at the Harbour Station, with an attendance of 6,646.[18][19]
Regular season
Standings
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
