The Mississauga Power were a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team based in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, that competed in the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franchis ...

(NBL). Established in as the Oshawa Power, they played in the Central Division. The Oshawa team began play in the inaugural NBL Canada season, along with the

London Lightning The London Lightning is a Canadian professional basketball team based in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, with home games at Canada Life Place. The team competes in the Basketball Super League (North America), Basketball Super League. History The ...

, Moncton Miracles, and Summerside Storm and three Premier Basketball League (PBL) teams. The Power were relatively unsuccessful in their four years of existence. They had a losing record every season and a combined record of 17–55 since relocating to Mississauga. The team also had six different coaches during the span. In 2012, Oshawa's Brandon Robinson led the league in scoring and was named Rookie of the Year.

Point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

Omar Strong became the team's all-time leader in

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

s, passing former All-NBL Canada selection Nick Okorie, and won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. In June

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, it was announced that the Power franchise sold to Raptors to create of Raptors 905, the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

affiliate to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). The D-League team would play their home games at the Power's arena, the Hershey Centre.

Team history

Beginnings in Oshawa (2011–2013)

The franchise was established in 2011 as the Oshawa Power, and they played their first season in the

. Following the league's additions of the Halifax Rainmen,

Saint John Mill Rats The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) in the Atlantic Division ...

, and

Quebec Kebs The Quebec Kebs () were a professional basketball team located in Laval, Quebec, formerly based in Quebec City, Quebec. The Kebs were part of the National Basketball League of Canada. They also played in the Atlantic Division of the Premier Ba ...

in May 2011, they joined that summer with the

, Moncton Miracles, and Summerside Storm. In a release from the team, they said they chose their nickname because it "epitomizes the force of a community coming together as one." Before the start of the

2011–12 NBL Canada season The 2011–12 NBL Canada season was the inaugural season of the National Basketball League of Canada. Teams Map of teams Draft The 2011 NBL Canada Draft was held August 21, 2011. The Oshawa Power had the first pick and selected shooting guar ...

, the Power named former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player Mark Strickland their head coach. The decision to add Strickland was viewed as a big step forward by President of Basketball Operations Gary Durrant. The team decided to select Morgan Lewis with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBL Canada draft. Lewis also became the first player to be drafted in NBLC history. Along with University of Findlay's star, the Power picked up Blain LaBranche and Kevin Francis that same night. LaBranche, who played for the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athl ...

in college, was known as a strong three-point shooter, while Cleveland State's Francis was noted for his size and attitude. In mid-October, Oshawa held two intra-squad games in Pickering High School and G L Roberts Collegiate and Vocational Institute in

. Their official 18-man training camp roster featured players the caliber of Lewis, Brandon Robinson, Tut Ruach, Denham Brown, and Omari Johnson. Gary Durrant said, "We are very pleased with the guys we have on our training camp roster. I can't wait for everyone to see how entertaining and dynamic our guys are. Be prepared to be amazed by the Power." However, before the season began, Brown signed with

Ciclista Olímpico Club Ciclista Olímpico La Banda, also known as simply Ciclista Olímpico, is an Argentine sports club based in La Banda, Santiago del Estero. The club is mostly known for its basketball team, which currently plays in the Liga Nacional de Básque ...

of the

Liga Nacional de Básquet Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Amer ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Durrant called him a "role model to younger players." On October 30, 2011, the Power made their first-ever appearance in an official NBLC game, losing to the

, 101–104, at the

Colisée de Laval The Colisée de Laval is a 3,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Laval, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1954, it has been the home of many minor league ice hockey, minor league and junior ice hockey teams. In 2019, the Les Pétroliers du Nord of the Ligue ...

Laval, Quebec Laval is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in Can ...

. Brandon Robinson led Oshawa with 16 points and Tut Ruach added 10 assists, but they were overwhelmed by Tommy Mitchell and Royce Parran. This was the first regular season game in the history of the NBL Canada as well. Oshawa started strong in their home opener at the General Motors Centre against the Moncton Miracles in their following game, capturing a 107–80 victory. Strickland parted ways with the Power on December 21, 2011, after leading the team to a 6–11 start to the season. Durrant said, "We appreciate all that Coach Strickland has done for this organization." It was also announced that David Joseph, best known as the father of

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

player Cory Joseph, would assume the role until an interim head coach was named. Joseph assisted Jim Barclay at Centennial College in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and therefore was not capable of taking up the full-time job. After having Joseph coach two games, both of which were defeats, Oshawa introduced former

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

captain Robert Brickey as their head coach for the remainder of the season. Before long under their new sideline leader, on January 4, 2012, leading scorer Akeem Wright was traded away to the Moncton Miracles in exchange for forward Andrew Francis. Brickey would help the Power finish off the season a relatively pleasant 9–10 and engineered a 4-game winning streak during his term, but his team ultimately finished fifth in the league at 15–21. In the 2011–12 season, where only four teams could qualify for the postseason, they failed to make the playoffs. Nevertheless, Brandon Robinson led the league in points per game for that season.

Relocation to Mississauga (2013–2015)

In April 2013, an official announcement was made that the Power would relocate to

for the 2013–14 NBL Canada season.

Home arenas

The Power played their home games at the Hershey Centre, located in

. The stadium, which opened in October 1998, is known as one of the best sports and entertainment facilities in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

and features a portable

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

-size basketball court. The Hershey Centre is also the home to the Mississauga Steelheads of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

as well as many other teams. It hosted

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

, and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

at the

2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

and

goalball Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a visual impairment, vision impairment. Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball with bells embedded inside it into the opponents' goal. The ball is throw ...

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

, and

wheelchair rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for Disabled sport, athletes with a disability. It is practiced in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic spor ...

events at the

2015 Parapan American Games The 2015 Parapan American Games, officially the V Parapan American Games and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 ParaPan-Am Games, were a major international multi-sport event for Disabled sports, athletes with disabilities, celebrated in the tra ...

. Before moving to Mississauga, when the Power were based in

Oshawa Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

, their home stadium was the General Motors Centre. The GM Centre is known to be home of the

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

in the Ontario Hockey League. Opened in 2006, it is a multi-purpose arena that has previously hosted

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

concerts and

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

performances. It can hold up to 7,600 visitors and has special club seating. As a sports stadium, it has hosted events such as the 2011 BDO Canadian Open of Curling, the IIHF World Junior Pre-Competition, and the Canadian Synchronized Skating Championships.

Sponsorship

On October 2, 2014, the Mississauga Power secured significant corporate support by announcing their partnership with BioSteel Sports Supplements Inc & Peak Sports Canada. This the second significant sponsorship announcement in the basketball market for BioSteel Sports Supplements Inc. Earlier in the summer BioSteel Sports Supplements Inc became the exclusive sports drink provider for Canada Basketball.

Mascot

Mississauga Power's official mascot was "POW". This mascot was easily one of the most recognizable mascots in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) and around the Greater Toronto Area. POW has been seen across the city in various community and city events like the Toronto Auto Show.

Players

Final roster

Draft picks

The Power have had two first overall draft picks in franchise history: Morgan Lewis (selected in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

) and

Jordan Weidner Jordan Weidner is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for Grace College & Seminary, Grace College. He played two seasons in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). He played college basketball for ...

(selected in 2014). Both draftees hailed from the United States, but neither of them played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

at the Division I level. Some of the other players Oshawa and Mississauga have drafted in the past include Anthony Petteway and Freddie Riley in 2014, Bol Kong, Dwight McCombs, and Eric Petty, Jr. in 2013, Chad Gillaspy, Amani Daanish, and Jamaal Smith in 2012, and Kevin Francis and Blain Labranche in 2011.

Franchise leaders

Bold denotes still active with team. ''Statistics (regular season) as of the end of the 2014–15 season'' Points *1. Nick Okorie (1,171) *2. Morgan Lewis (1,049) *3. Bo Harris (899) *4. Jushay Rockett (866) *5. Kirk Williams (791) Rebounds *1. Jushay Rockett (523) *2. Morgan Lewis (452) *3. Bo Harris (394) *4. Omari Johnson (310) *5. Kirk Williams (290) Assists *1. Alex Johnson (293) *2. Nick Okorie (253) *3. Bo Harris (247) *4. Morgan Lewis (224) *5. Tut Ruach (201) Steals *1. Morgan Lewis (99) *2. Jushay Rockett (93) *3. Bo Harris (91) *4. Nick Okorie (85) *5. Papa Oppong (65) Blocks *1. Omari Johnson (57) *2. Shamus Ferguson (47) *3. Jushay Rockett (42) *4. Bo Harris (39) *5. Dwight McCombs (39)

Individual awards

NBL Rookie of the Year * Brandon Robinson – 2012 NBL Sixth Man of the Year * Omar Strong – 2015 All-NBL Second Team * Omari Johnson – 2012 * Brandon Robinson – 2012 * Omar Strong – 2015 All-NBL Third Team * Nick Okorie – 2013, 2014 NBL All-Defence Team * Marcus Capers – 2015 NBL All-Rookie Team * Thijin Moses – 2014

All-Stars

Head coaches

References

External links

*
NBL press release announcing team
{{NBLCdefunct National Basketball League of Canada teams Sports clubs and teams in Mississauga Basketball teams established in 2011 2011 establishments in Ontario Basketball teams disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Ontario