Breaking: The Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks are among two of four NBA teams that have signed CEBL players. Has the world underestimated Canada’s talent?
Photo credit- CEBL
Over the last four days, multiple NBA organizations have signed 10-day contracts with players outside of their current roster. Among the many signed players, four of them were formerly a part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) being, Xavier Moon, Cat Barber, Javin Delaurier, and Xavier Sneed.
Due to the high amount of NBA players being in health and safety protocols, many teams in the NBA have been missing their rotational players. To accommodate the unavailable players, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has allowed teams to fill their roster with 10-day contracts. Silver revealed that he has ‘no plans’ in pausing the season and instead is finding strategies to work around it. According to an article written by Tim Reynolds of NBA.com, he reveals a full quote of Silver’s intentions.
“Frankly, we’re having trouble coming up with what the logic would be behind pausing right now,” Silver said. “As we look through these cases literally ripping through the country right now, putting aside the rest of the world, I think we’re finding ourselves where we sort of knew we were going to get to for the past several months — and that is that this virus will not be eradicated and we’re going to have to learn to live with it. That’s what we’re experiencing in the league right now.”
Photo credit- CEBL
The NBA has postponed seven games this season and has experienced a major outbreak of positive COVID-19 tests. While that is a concerning situation, the benefit of this is that other professional players have the opportunity to reach their dream of being a part of an NBA roster. The CEBL has managed to propel many players to other opportunities to play overseas, and now, the NBA!
In the 2021 CEBL season, Moon managed to win his third consecutive MVP award while leading his team, the Edmonton Stingers, to their second title. Moon has been a three-time All-Star and a first All-CEBL first team since 2019. Overall, Moon has built an excellent reputation in the CEBL while being the best player in league history. He has been one of the few players to return to the CEBL every season and play with the same team. However, Barber, Delaurier and Sneed were all new for the 2021 season and were the best players on their team. Barber was the leading scorer for the Guelph Nighthawks, while Delaurier and Sneed were arguably the best guard-center duo in the league. Even though they are nearly not as accomplished as Xavier Moon, they are some of the best players in the 2021 season and deserve to make an NBA roster.
The CEBL is arguably one of the fastest-growing sports leagues in the world! In just three seasons, they have managed to become the most popular basketball sports league in Canada while also hosting ten teams in their league! Because of the CEBL, basketball has been a rising sport in Canada to the point where NBA organizations are interested in players who broke out in the CEBL.
The Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers have signed a former CEBL player.
Memphis Grizzlies signed- Xavier Sneed (formally a member of the Niagara River Lions)
Milwaukee Bucks signed- Javin Delaurier (formally a member of the Niagara River Lions)
Atlanta Hawks signed- Cat Barber (formally a member of the Guelph Nighthawks)
Los Angeles Clippers signed- Xavier Moon (formally a member of the Edmonton Stingers)
The Niagara River Lions have managed to see two of their former players make an NBA roster, while the Guelph Nighthawks and Edmonton Stingers have seen one. With hopes of seeing more CEBL players make NBA rosters, it’s remarkable to see that the CEBL has managed to host NBA-type talent in their league. For only having three seasons under their belt, the CEBL is the future of Canadian basketball and has inspired the next generation of Canadian athletes. This type of league will fuel hope for young Canadian athletes who have dreams of becoming professional athletes. A league like the CEBL must exist as it shows that playing professional basketball while being close to home is an actual possibility.
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