Saskatoon Slam
{{Infobox basketball club|location=Saskatoon, Saskatchewan|name=Saskatoon Slam|league=National Basketball League|established=1990|folded=1994|history=Saskatchewan Storm (WBL) (1990–1992)
Saskatoon Slam (NBL) (1992–1994)|arena=Saskatchewan Place|championships=1 (1993)|colour2=#FFCB5E|colour3=black|colours={{Color box|#FFCB5E}} {{Color box|black}} {{Color box|white}}}}
The Saskatoon Slam were a Canadian professional basketball franchise based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that played in the National Basketball League in 1993 and 1994.{{Cite news |last=Romuld |first=Darrell |date=2022-10-04 |title=What pro sports teams used to exist in Sask.? |work=CTV News |url=https://regina.ctvnews.ca/just-curious/justcurious-what-pro-sports-teams-used-to-exist-in-sask-1.6050156 |access-date=2023-07-20}}
Team history
= Saskatchewan Storm (WBL) =
The Slam were founded in 1990 as the Saskatchewan Storm of the World Basketball League (WBL). On May 11, 1990 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.{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Kevin |date=2018-05-03 |title=City sports checkered pro basketball history |work=Saskatoon StarPhoenix |url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/saskatoon-starphoenix/20180503/282020442917485 |access-date=2023-07-20}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Kevin |date=2019-05-09 |title=After a long, long absence, pro hoops is back in Saskatoon |work=Saskatoon StarPhoenix |url=https://thestarphoenix.com/sports/basketball/after-a-long-long-absence-pro-hoops-is-back-in-saskatoon/ |access-date=2023-07-21}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Piller |first=Thomas |date=2019-08-26 |title=Saskatchewan Rattlers capture 1st CEBL championship |work=Global News |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/5815259/saskatchewan-rattlers-cebl-championship/ |access-date=2023-07-20}}
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. This left the city and province without professional basketball until briefly hosting the Saskatchewan Hawks, from 2000 to 2002.
Season by season results
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:2em;" |
| = Indicates League Championship |
Legend: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, GBL = Games Behind Leader
= Saskatchewan Storm (WBL) =
| class="wikitable" | ||||||
| style="font-weight:bold; background:#ddd;" | | GP | W | L
| Pct. | GBL | Finish | Playoffs |
| 1990 | 46 | 19 | 27
| .413 | 19 | 6th | Lost first-round to Las Vegas Silver Streaks, 2–0 |
| 1991 | 51 | 25 | 26
| .490 | 12 | 6th | Won first-round over Youngstown Pride, 2–0
Lost semi-final to Calgary 88's, 2–0 |
| 1992
|33 |12 |21 |.364 |14 |7th |None–League folded on 1 August 1992 | ||||||
| style="font-weight:bold; background:#ddd;"
|Totals |130 |56 |74 |.431 | | |2-4 playoff record |
= Saskatoon Slam (NBL) =
| class="wikitable" | ||||||
| style="font-weight:bold; background:#ddd;" | | GP | W | L
| Pct. | GBL | Finish | Playoffs |
| style="background:#CCFFCC;"
| 1993 | 46 | 25 | 21
| .544 | 5 | 3rd | Won semi-final over Winnipeg Thunder 3–2, Won finals over Cape Breton Breakers 3–1 |
| 1994 | 23 | 10 | 13
| .435 | 6 | 4th | None–League folded on 9 July 1994 |
| style="font-weight:bold; background:#ddd;"
|Totals |69 |35 |34 |.507 | - | - |Playoff record 6-3 |
All-time Slam roster
| class="wikitable" | ||||||
| bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="20%" | Name
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | Number ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | Position ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | Height ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | Weight ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | Date of birth ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="45%" | 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 | [Sichuan Pandas (basketball)|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
{{Reflist}}
{{Defunct Saskatchewan sports teams}}
Category:World Basketball League teams
Category:Basketball teams established in 1990
Category:1990 establishments in Saskatchewan
Category:National Basketball League (Canada) teams
Category:Sports clubs and teams in Saskatoon
Category:Basketball in Saskatchewan
Category:Defunct basketball teams in Canada
Category:Defunct sports teams in Saskatchewan
Category:Basketball teams disestablished in 1994
Category:1994 disestablishments in Canada
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