2025 CEBL Preview

Welcome into the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League season, where the Niagara River Lions are reigning champions, the Vancouver Bandits are looking to avenge last season’s title game loss, and the other eight teams are looking for their opportunity to strike gold at Championship Weekend in Winnipeg. Season seven of the CEBL is set to be one of the best to date, with the addition of four extra games in the regular season, upping the total to 24 and Championship Weekend has been promised to be the best version of itself. But with a new season, there are always changes that happen during the offseason, particularly the rosters of each of the ten teams. Each organization has tried to reload this winter and build a contender that will topple the reigning champs. We are going to go over who I believe are going to be the teams to watch this upcoming summer, who I think will underachieve and players to watch for as the games go on.



The Reigning Champs Will Strike Again

You could see this as a cop out, just going with the 2024 champs to stay at the precipice of the league. But I am being serious when I say that I truly think Niagara is still the team to beat this summer. They return much of the same roster that was top three most offensive and defensive categories. Many of the players don’t just have one year of experience, but multiple years under their belt in the league. While they will be without their perennial leader Khalil Ahmad (at least to begin the year) bringing in Ahmed Hill from the Montreal Alliance is as good of a replacement as you can get for offence. Even without Ahmad and his two-way stardom, runner-up in the  Defensive Player of the Year award Omari Moore, Nathan Cayo, and others will be more than enough to have the River Lions as a top defence again. Be prepared for Niagara to top the Eastern Conference again in 2025.

Western Conference Bloodbath

It wouldn’t be a CEBL season without the Western Conference being an absolute gauntlet once again. The likes of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg will all be fighting amongst one another for supremacy in the conference. While Winnipeg does host Championship Weekend and get the automatic bye, do not believe for a second that they will take the season lightly. Just like the rest of the league, they will fight to be at the top. The other three clubs have all brought in very intriguing import players, as well as Canadians who have experience in the league. It’s hard to pick just one that will outperform the others, but out of the three, I would put my money on Calgary if I had to.



2025 Sleeper

It’s been a disappointing tenure in terms of results for the Montreal Alliance since they have joined the CEBL. I truly believe that this is their year to finally no longer finish last, and maybe, just maybe make the playoffs without the need of having the host bid. They’ve had many flashes the last two seasons of being quite competitive, but injuries and roster turnover have hurt them. I’ve been fascinated by their acquisitions this past winter, bringing back one of my favourite players in the league, Alain Louis, along with other CEBL newcomers like Anthony Walker, Michael Diggins Jr. and Quincy Guerrier. Their selection of Sultan Haider Bhatti as the number one overall selection in the CEBL draft is one to keep an eye on. While they did host the 2024 CEBL Championship Weekend, I think 2025 is the year that the Alliance make the post-season by virtue of their play on the floor.

Award Predictions

It is already hard enough to make award predictions for any league, let along one that has such a large amount of turnover per offseason. But I am going to give it my best shot. I may have a specific player in mind when talking about an honour, but I may also throw out a couple names.



Most Valuable Player

This is probably the hardest award to predict, as all of the potential candidates from last season are not participating this summer (at least at this moment). This award has only ever gone to an import player, but this summer could be the first time a Canadian wins this award. If the River Lions are at the top once again, I could see this going to Canadian Jahvon Blair. As well, I could also see this going to Kobe McEwen, who has returned to play for the Brampton Honey Badgers. He has only gotten better and better each year in the league and will have all the keys to their offence. I could also see returning import Tevin Brown of the Ottawa Blackjacks in the hunt as well. These are all educated shots in the dark and we will not be able to decipher any possible true candidates until the season is underway.



Defensive Player of the Year

This might be one of the easier awards to make a prediction for. I mentioned him earlier, as he was the runner-up in 2024. I truly believe that as long as he participates for the entire season that Omari Moore will be the recipient of the hardware at summers end. Next to Lloyd Pandi last year, he was arguably the best perimeter defender, along with posting some of the best statistics on that end of the floor for a wing. He will once again be a candidate to watch for, especially if the River Lions are good in 2025.



Canadian Player of the Year

I talked about some of the possible candidates in the MVP section. This could be a back-to-back winner (maybe even a MVP combined with CPY for the first time ever) if it goes to McEwen. I could also see Blair being up for the award if he does in fact have a great summer. Those two would be my current picks for the award. My dark horse would be Alain Louis. He has been one of my favourite players to watch in the league and I have been waiting for a huge breakout from him. This certainly could be the season.

Developmental Player of the Year

This award is a toss up, depending on who is willing to stay in the league, and those who are in situations where they will play. With the NCAA transfer portal being a complete bonanza, it has meant that some players were not available to begin with for the draft and others have decided to explore opportunities after being drafted. There are four players that went in the first round that I feel could come away with this award. Each of them have previous experience in the league, with some having played more minutes than others. I could see Ottawa draft pick Justin Ndjock-Tadjore as a breakout candidate. You could also throw in Scarborough pick David Walker or Sea Bears’ Geoffrey James. Those two have the most experience out of the group of draft picks, having carved out roles on teams in previous seasons. The only other player is dependant on if they do decide to stay in Canada, and that would be OUA MVP Aaron Rhooms. Rhooms does have NCAA opportunities on the table, but is currently on the Edmonton Stingers training camp roster. My pick out of those four is most likely Walker. He should have the biggest runway out of the other three to be a major contributor.



Final Thoughts

Season seven of the CEBL is going to be an absolute blast. The fact that the league continues to grow, the level of the league gets better, and the promise for the best Championship Weekend ever is very promising. I will leave you all with this: The West is going to be a bloodbath and the East will be competitive again. With that being said, my 2025 CEBL Champion pick will be the Niagara River Lions repeating, the first to do so since the Stingers, in a tough game over the Calgary Surge. Enjoy the season everyone!