London Lightning
| London Lightning | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 2017–18 NBL Canada season | ||||
 | ||||
| Division | Central Division | |||
| League | National Basketball League of Canada | |||
| Founded | 2011 | |||
| History | London Lightning 2011–present | |||
| Arena | Budweiser Gardens | |||
| Location | London, Ontario | |||
| Team colours | Yellow, black, white | |||
| Head coach | Keith Vassell | |||
| Ownership | Vito Frijia | |||
| Championships | 3 (2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17) | |||
| Website | LightningBasketball.ca | |||
| ||||
The London Lightning is a Canadian professional basketball team based in London, Ontario, Canada. The team was a charter member of the National Basketball League of Canada which began play with the 2011–12 season (of which they are the inaugural and three-time champions). The Lightning plays its home games at the Budweiser Gardens.
History
The Lightning name was announced on August 12, 2011.[1] On August 17, former Albany Patroons and Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry head coach Micheal Ray Richardson was announced as the Lightning's first head coach.[2] The Lightning would go on to win the 2012 NBL championship, defeating the Halifax Rainmen 116-92 on March 25, 2012 at the John Labatt Centre to take the best-of-five championship series three games to two.[3]
Carlos Knox was unveiled as the new Lightning head coach on July 17, 2014.[4] He led the team to an 18–14 record.[5] Knox was dismissed in August 2015 after hiding player Jonathan Mills' positive drug test results from Vito Frijia and the league. He was replaced by former Mississauga Power head coach Kyle Julius later in the month.[6][7][8]
Julius would lead the Lightning to back-to-back championship appearances in 2016 and 2017, winning the championship in the latter.[9] He would be replaced by former Niagara College and interim Niagara River Lions head coach, Keith Vassell.[10]
Home arenas
Originally opened in 2002, the Budweiser Gardens is a sports-entertainment centre, in London, Ontario, Canada. The arena has a capacity of 9,000. The Lightning shares the arena with London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.[11]
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| London Lightning roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: December 12, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Season-by-season record
| Season | Coach | Regular season | Post season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| 2011–12 | Micheal Ray Richardson | 28 | 8 | .778 | 1st | 5 | 2 | .714 | League Champions |
| 2012–13 | Micheal Ray Richardson | 33 | 7 | .825 | 1st | 6 | 2 | .750 | League Champions |
| 2013–14 | Micheal Ray Richardson | 23 | 17 | .575 | 4th | 6 | 6 | .500 | Conference Semi-finals |
| 2014–15 | Carlos Knox | 18 | 14 | .563 | 3rd | 2 | 3 | .400 | Conference Quarter-finals |
| 2015–16 | Kyle Julius | 26 | 14 | .650 | 1st | 10 | 6 | .500 | League Runners-up |
| 2016–17 | Kyle Julius | 35 | 5 | .875 | 1st | 11 | 2 | .846 | League Champions |
| Totals | 163 | 65 | .715 | 4 Regular Season Pennants | 40 | 21 | .656 | 3 League Championships | |
References
- ^ http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/08/12/18547261.html
- ^ http://www.lfpress.com/sports/basketball/2011/08/17/18565196.html
- ^ http://lightningbasketball.ca/view/londonlightning/home-page
- ^ "Coach Knox takes Lightning in new direction". londoncommunitynews.com. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
- ^ "2014-15 Standings". NBLCanada.com. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|website=(help) - ^ "Lightning dismiss Knox". LightningBasketball.ca. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|website=(help) - ^ "London Lightning coach Carlos Knox kept test secret". The London Free Press. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "London Lightning set to name Kyle Julius head coach". The London Free Press. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "London Lightning coach, owner deny serious conflict led to coach quitting". The London Free Press. 13 June 2017.
- ^ "London Lightning hire new coach for upcoming NBL season". GlobalNews.ca. 24 August 2017.
- ^ "Arena Info". BudweiserGardens.com. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
