Breaking: The Canadian Elite Basketball League has officially added their tenth organization in Newfoundland.

The Canadian Elite Basketball League has expanded to ten locations in Canada despite only being around for three years. Since the 2021 season ended, the CEBL announced that Scarborough, Montreal, and Newfoundland would join the CEBL next season. With this expansion, the CEBL has become Canada’s largest pro sports league, with a whopping ten organizations in six different provinces.

Out of the ten organizations in the CEBL, four are located in Ontario, and the rest are dispersed across the country. While Ontario does have a strong basketball community, St.John Newfoundland has emerged as a location strong enough to host the CEBL’s tenth organization. Commissioner Mike Morreale reveals that St.John Newfoundland surprisingly has an “outstanding sports community with exceptional fan support.”

“St. John’s and the surrounding area is known to be an outstanding sports community with exceptional fan support, so we’re excited to bring the best pro basketball in Canada outside of the NBA to Newfoundland,” said Mike Morreale, commissioner and chief executive officer of the CEBL. “Dean MacDonald, Glenn Stanford, and the staff at Deacon Sports and Entertainment have an unparalleled passion for investing in the community through sports ownership and the Growlers Give program. With 75 percent of our team rosters comprised of Canadian players, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro sports league in the country. I’d like to thank Deacon Sports and Entertainment for stepping forward to support the development of Canadian basketball.”

Quotes are from the CEBL.

The growth of the CEBL has been overwhelming and exciting to see. In 2019, the CEBL only had six organizations that featured some of the best professional players across the country. With basketball exponentially growing in Canada every year, having ten organizations means more opportunities for Canadian players and fan engagement. 

DunkinDhooma has featured many Canadian professional basketball player stories that revealed their upbringing and how they found a passion for basketball. The one common theme that every player expressed was that they grew up when basketball was not popular in their communities. From Joey Haywood growing up in British Columbia to Otas Iyekekpolor, who grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, almost every professional Canadian basketball player can agree that the interest in basketball during their upbringing was not as widespread as it is today. 

By having the CEBL and their exceptional expansion, the CEBL provides an opportunity for the next generation of athletes to believe that they can one day reach the professional level without leaving their country. Morreale and the rest of the league have prioritized that the CEBL focuses more on Canadian athletes than overseas athletes. The CEBL made it a goal that 75% of their players have to be Canadian while the remaining 25% can be any other nationality. This is the first professional Canadian basketball league that I have personally seen that has prioritized Canadian talent over anything else. That is what makes the CEBL special and the reason they have grown the way they have in the last three years. 

In the next ten or so years, the CEBL will play a significant part in the growth of basketball. From their marketing to their fast-paced expansion, the CEBL aims to reach every Canadian they possibly can in hopes of growing basketball in this country. The CEBL has only been around for three years and has become the primary hub for Canadian basketball. By expanding to locations with a reputation of strong basketball interest in Canada, the CEBL has been strategic and patient in its decision-making since 2019.