The Winnipeg Thunder was a professional basketball franchise based in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, from 1992 to 1994. The Thunder played its inaugural season in the

World Basketball League World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada which operated from 1988 to 1992. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior ...

, which folded before the schedule ended. The club then joined the nascent National Basketball League, where it played for the 1993 and 1994 seasons. The Thunder enjoyed considerable public and corporate support at the outset, which later dwindled due in part to league instability and increased competition in the local minor-league sports market, following the establishment of the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

club. The club's financial backers included

Sam Katz Samuel Michael Katz (born August 20, 1951) is a Canadian businessman and former politician who was the 42nd mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba from 2004 to 2014. He is the owner of the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association, as well as the ...

John Loewen John Loewen (; born December 21, 1949) is a businessman and politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1999 to 2005 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, and campaigned for the House of ...

, Vic Pruden, Hersh Wolch and

David Asper David Asper (born November 26, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and businessman, and a former acting dean of Robson Hall, the law faculty of the University of Manitoba. Asper is the son of Izzy Asper, the founder of Canwest, and is now the head of ...

. The Thunder played its home games at the

Winnipeg Arena Winnipeg Arena was an indoor arena located in the Polo Park district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The arena was the city's premier ice hockey venue from 1955 to 2004 and is best remembered as the home of the first Winnipeg Jets franchise, whi ...

. It would eventually be succeeded by the

Winnipeg Cyclone Winnipeg Cyclone were a professional basketball club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba that competed in the International Basketball Association from 1995 to 2001. The Cyclone played its home games at the Winnipeg Convention Centre (dubbed the "Wind Tun ...

, which represented the city in the

International Basketball Association The International Basketball Association (IBA) was founded in 1995 by a group of businessmen led by Tom Anderson. The original owners of franchises in the league were George Daniel (Black Hills Posse-Rapid City, SD), John Korsmo, Al Gardner, and ...

from 1995 to 2001.

History

It was announced by the

on January 22, 1992 that Winnipeg was granted an expansion franchise in the league, and that the team name would be picked through a “Name-the-team” contest in the Winnipeg Free Press. On February 14, 1992 team ownership unveiled the team name will be the Winnipeg Thunder after over 8,000 entries were submitted for the name-the-team contest. The team named

Tom Nissalke Thomas Edward Nissalke (July 7, 1932 – August 22, 2019) was an American professional basketball coach in the National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association. He coached several teams in both leagues, and had an overall coa ...

as the first head coach in franchise history on February 28, 1992. The Thunder lost their first game in franchise history, May 1, 1992 on the road 127–103 to the

Florida Jades The Florida Jades were a professional basketball franchise based in Boca Raton, Florida from 1991 to 1992. The team played its inaugural season in the World Basketball League World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball leagu ...

. The team played their first home game on May 11, 1992 at the Winnipeg Arena before a World Basketball League record breaking 11,052 fans, unfortunately the Thunder lost 101–84 to the defending champion Dayton Wings. On May 15, 1992 after going 0–6 to start the season the Thunder won their first game in franchise history at home 127–103 over their Provincial rivals the Saskatchewan storm in front of 4,641 fans.

Team information

Mascots

The Thunder's mascots were Kaboom and Baby Boom. Cheerleaders The team had a cheer team called the High Voltage Dance Team.

Personnel

Head Coaches *

Mike Sylvester Michael Joseph "Mike" Sylvester (born December 10, 1951) is an American and Italian retired basketball player who is currently coach at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. Due to the United States boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics, he was t ...

Assistant Coaches * Vic Pruden

Roster

Season by Season record

WBL NBL

References

National Basketball League (Canada) teams Sports clubs and teams in Winnipeg Defunct basketball teams in Canada World Basketball League teams Basketball teams established in 1992 Basketball teams disestablished in 1994 1992 establishments in Manitoba 1994 disestablishments in Manitoba Basketball in Manitoba {{Canada-basketball-team-stub