From TBL to BSL, Basketball Across North America Takes On Whole New Look And Feel in 2024
With two professional leagues offering different levels of competition, the upcoming basketball season is beginning to take shape in the TBL and BSL
This has been a very long offseason. And it’s not over yet. Not by a long shot.
In the past, the summer time has been reserved for providing league-wide coverage, on-going free agency, individual team workouts and combines, but now with the feeling of Fall in the air those offseason staples have gone to the way side. Basketball is back in some ways. But was it ever really gone in others? Take one long look at professional basketball in the United States and Canada — outside of the NBA and G-League that is — and what has emerged is a two-headed monster divided up between The Basketball League (TBL) and the newly launched Basketball Super League (BSL). So does that mean two pro leagues are better than none?
That’s easily a question for the plethora of aspiring pro players and holdover guys who competed in the 2023 TBL season, and in the Great White North with the defunct National Basketball League of Canada. Ask them what they are willing to do to continue chasing their respective hoop dreams, and it’s clear that both the TBL and BSL are providing much needed opportunities. The two leagues are also filling a void — for hungry fanbases and communities generally rooted in small markets from Salem, Oregon to Newfoundland — and for players and coaches alike who simply just need a chance.
That’s what TBL and BSL offer across the board: a chance.
“We are starting this new premier product with 6 quality teams each in their own rite have made an impact on the game and with the game in their local communities,” TBL President, David Magley said recently about this historic first season of The Basketball Super League.
“We have champions and markets that historically supported pro basketball and we have listened to our fans (especially in Canada) asking to see us play primarily in the winter months.”
During this first year of play, BSL is using the slogan “Next Level Up” to describe what the league actually embodies. It’s more than just a mantra, however. Even for guys in TBL who are aspiring to complete in BSL, “Next Level Up” essentially becomes a destination in a long journey, with the road to BSL going through Wayne, Michigan (just outside of Detroit), as the league prepares to host the BSL 2024 Draft Combine and Draft on November 18 and 19.
News From Around The Basketball League
Vipers Strike Big With Lester Conner As Head Coach
Virginia Valley Vipers made some noise this week when they announced former NBA player and coach, Lester Conner, as the franchises new head coach. For those not familiar with Coach Conner’s storied career coming out of Oregon State University before venturing into an NBA career, on the floor and on the sidelines, the Vipers made a tremendous hire. Not only does Coach draw inspiration from the legendary Ralph Miller, but the players with Virginia Valley should be quick to sit under Lester’s learning tree. They’ll grow as players and people because of it.
"I believe in being in shape, I believe in hard work, fundamentals, dedication and with the help of community and the fans, we can build strong relationships and a championship team on and off the court," Conner said in the release.
Most recently, Conner — an Oakland native — was living in suburban Alameda assisting fellow ex-Beaver Gary Payton with Lincoln University basketball program. (Great work always by Kerry Eggers)
The resume speaks volumes: Drafted in 1982 as the 14th pick overall, by the Golden State Warriors where he played four seasons before suiting up with the Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, the Indiana Pacers, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Conner began his NBA coaching career in 1998 as an assistant to Rick Pitino for the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee with head coach Terry Stotts, with the Indiana Pacers, and Philadelphia 76ers among other coaching experiences. And now, Coach Conner is once again helping develop the next generation of pro players in The Basketball League.
New Mexico and Montana Headline Expansion Teams Heading Into New Season
Nothing says the start of a new season like announcing expansion teams. The minority-owned team in New Mexico has partnered with the Santa Ana Pueblo community and is currently in negotiations to play at the Rio Rancho Events Center. They are also in good hands by introducing the first head coach in franchise history — former Chicago Bulls power forward Cliff Levingston and head coach in Kokomo, Indiana.
“That is what really got me excited about the basketball,” said Levingston. “They enjoy basketball, they know basketball, and they love basketball. When you have that, you already have your foundation and I am going to build something that the community will be very proud to wear the colors and the name of the team.”
Meanwhile up north in Montana, professional basketball has returned to Electric City. Great Falls will be home to a new franchise led by general manager Jim Keough, with the organization slated to compete in a tough Western Conference with a 12-game home schedule at Four Seasons Arena for its first season.
The Road To The 2024 TBL Championship Goes Through Shawnee
If you are new to following TBL, just know this. Aside from being a well-structured developmental and exposure league that helps catapult goes to leagues internationally, the NBA G-League, and even the NBA, the rocky road to chasing the 2024 TBL title still has to run through Shawnee, Oklahoma and the Potawatomi Fire. What a squad and experience that was last season. From top to bottom and at all point in-between, the Fire was built to win. You saw it during the 2022 offseason when they began to construct a championship squad. The scene in the final days leading up to hosting “The Lillie” over their collective heads helps paint the picture:
“The job isn’t done yet,” Chuck Guy said the morning of Game 3’s championship match-up.
Guy going for a team-high 24 point performance in the title game and earning playoff Co-MVP honors with Deshawn Munson, put the final touches on a historic and unforgettable season in Shawnee.
“The Potawatomi Nation built the foundation of this house,” David Qualls said at the beginning of the season, as the Fire blazed a path through TBL.
“It’s the community that came in and decorated it.”
Now, there’s a brand new trophy to place on the mantle.
Wendell Maxey is the author of Around The Basketball League and has written about professional basketball and sports for 20 years. He’s been featured on NBA.com, ESPN.com, USA Today, FOX Sports, and SLAM Magazine among other publications and media outlets. You can connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn or read through his archive on Linktree. This 2024 season, Wendell will also be a featured writer with the Basketball Super League.