Saskatoon Mamba

Lore & Background

The franchise began in 2018 as the Saskatchewan Rattlers, one of six charter members of the CEBL. In their inaugural 2019 season, they hosted the league's first Championship Weekend and won the championship, defeating the Hamilton Honey Badgers 94–83 in the final. Team captain Alex Campbell was named playoff MVP, and the final game marked the retirement of local veteran Michael Linklater.

After the championship, the team experienced struggles, including a last-place finish in the pandemic-affected 2020 season and multiple coaching changes. In 2025, the team played a memorable comeback game on Michael Linklater Day, overcoming an 11-point deficit in target score time to beat the Ottawa Blackjacks 93–90. Jordan Bowden set a single-game record with nine three-pointers in that contest.

In January 2026, the team removed Rattlers branding and was temporarily called the 'Saskatchewan Professional Basketball Club (previously Saskatchewan Rattlers).' On February 4, 2026, new ownership announced the team's new name: the Saskatoon Mamba. The first game under the new name was a 124–95 loss to the Vancouver Bandits on May 19, 2026.

Reader's Guide

The Saskatoon Mamba represents the continuation of professional basketball in Saskatchewan after a 17-year absence. As the Saskatchewan Rattlers, the team won the CEBL's first championship in 2019, establishing an early legacy. The franchise has undergone significant changes, including multiple coaching staffs, a pandemic-disrupted season, and a rebranding in 2026. The team's history includes notable individual performances: Jaden Bediako tied the CEBL single-game rebound record with 20 in 2025 and set the single-season blocks record with 49; Nate Pierre-Louis set CEBL records for total assists (143) and assists per game (7.9) in 2025; and Justin Wright-Foreman led the league in scoring in 2023 with 29.2 points per game, a single-season record. The Mamba's move to split home games between two venues and the 'Be Well' school day game initiative reflect efforts to engage the local community. The team's legacy is still being written, but its roots in the CEBL's founding championship and its evolution into the Saskatoon Mamba mark it as a notable franchise in Canadian basketball.

Did You Know?

• The team purchased a hardwood court from the Toronto Raptors ahead of their inaugural season.
• Negus Webster-Chan scored the first points in CEBL history on a four-point play in the league's first game on May 9, 2019.
• Jaden Bediako tied the CEBL single-game rebound record with 20 rebounds on July 26, 2025.
• The team's first win as the Saskatoon Mamba was a 100–98 victory over the Winnipeg Sea Bears.

Birth of a Prairie Franchise

The Saskatoon Mamba traces its roots to May 2018, when the newly formed Canadian Elite Basketball League selected Saskatoon as one of six founding cities for its 2019 launch. This marked a significant return of professional basketball to Saskatchewan, a province that had been without one since the International Basketball Association's Saskatchewan Hawks ceased operations in 2001. The franchise was initially branded the Saskatchewan Rattlers, a nod to the prairie rattlesnake, and was placed under the leadership of Lee Genier, who had previously helped establish the Saskatchewan Rush in 2016. Greg Jockims, a former Saskatchewan Huskies coach, was tapped to serve as both head coach and general manager. The team split home games between the SaskTel Centre and Merlis Belsher Place. Before the first tip-off, the organization acquired a hardwood court from the Toronto Raptors, which Genier described as carrying storied history, and installed it alongside new shot clocks and net stands at the SaskTel Centre.

The Inaugural Title

The 2019 season etched the Rattlers into CEBL lore almost immediately. On May 9, the team hosted the league's very first game, with Negus Webster-Chan scoring the franchise's and the league's opening points on a four-point play. Though they fell 99-97 to Niagara, narrowly missing a closing three, the season unfolded as a triumph. Saskatchewan topped the league in season-ticket sales and attendance, and entered Championship Weekend with an 11-9 record. In the semi-final, they edged Edmonton 85-83 before dispatching Hamilton 94-83 in the final to claim the CEBL's first-ever championship. Captain Alex Campbell earned playoff MVP honors, while the title game served as the swan song for local veteran Michael Linklater, who retired after the final buzzer. Linklater had previously helped the Huskies capture a national U Sports title in 2010 alongside Jockims. The trophy represented only the second professional basketball championship in Saskatchewan history, following the Saskatoon Slam's 1993 NBL title.

A Rollercoaster of Coaches and Seasons

The years following that historic 2019 title proved turbulent. The 2020 season, compressed into a six-game pandemic tournament in St. Catharines, saw the Rattlers finish last with a 1-5 mark. The 2021 campaign, though played at home, yielded just one win, and head coach Chad Jacobson resigned mid-season. Dean Demopoulos, a veteran NBA assistant, arrived in January 2022 and guided the team to an 11-9 record and a playoff berth, but they were eliminated by Scarborough. The 2023 season brought another coaching change after a seven-game losing streak led to Demopoulos's dismissal in July, with assistant Tanner Massey stepping in. Larry Abney took the reins for 2024, yet the team managed only one victory in their final thirteen games. For 2025, assistant Eric Magdanz was elevated to head coach, but the Rattlers finished 7-17 and missed the playoffs for a third consecutive year. The revolving door of leadership became a defining feature of this era.

Record-Breaking Nights and Rising Stars

Despite the organizational turbulence, individual brilliance kept the Rattlers' story compelling. Tony Carr's 2022 campaign produced a then-CEBL record 110 assists, and his 20-point performance in a 94-91 playoff win over Edmonton showcased his playmaking genius. Justin Wright-Foreman's 2023 season remains a benchmark, as his 29.2 points per game still stands as the single-season CEBL record as of the end of 2026. Jalen Harris stunned Hamilton with a league-record 45-point outburst in a 104-93 victory during the 2024 season. On the developmental front, Isaac Simon, a U Sports draft pick who joined the roster in 2023 at just 19 while still playing for the University of Alberta Golden Bears, emerged as a standout. Playing in all 24 games of the 2025 season, Simon earned the 2026 CEBL Developmental Player of the Year Award, signaling a promising future for the franchise's pipeline.