Canton Charge

The Canton Charge are an American professional basketball team based in Canton, Ohio, that competes in the NBA G League. The Charge are owned by and are also the minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Its home games are held at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Canton Charge
LeagueNBA G League
Founded2001
HistoryHuntsville Flight
2001–2005
Albuquerque Thunderbirds
2005–2010
New Mexico Thunderbirds
2010–2011
Canton Charge
2011–present
ArenaCanton Memorial Civic Center
LocationCanton, Ohio
Team colorsWine, gold, white[1][2][3]
              
Team managerBrendon Yu[4]
Head coachNate Reinking
OwnershipCleveland Cavaliers
Affiliation(s)Cleveland Cavaliers
Championships1 (2006)
Division/Conference titles1 (2013)
Websitecanton.gleague.nba.com

The franchise was founded in 2001 as the Huntsville Flight, based in Huntsville, Alabama, before moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2005, where they were known as the Albuquerque Thunderbirds until 2010. After playing the 2010–11 season in suburban Rio Rancho as the New Mexico Thunderbirds, the franchise was purchased by the Cavaliers and moved to Canton.

The team won the 2006 NBA D-League championship while playing in Albuquerque. The team lost the 2003–04 NBA D-League Finals, and reached the semifinals in 2004–05, 2006–07, 2011–12, 2014–15 and 2015–16.

History

Huntsville Flight

The team was formed in 2001 as the Huntsville Flight based in Huntsville, Alabama, as a founding member of the NBA Development League, the affiliate minor league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). They played home games at the Von Braun Center. In their first two seasons, they failed to make the playoffs, but in their third they reached the NBA D-League Finals, losing to the Asheville Altitude. The team ended its tenure in Alabama at the conclusion of the 2004–05 season after finishing third in the league and making the playoffs. The Flight were not affiliated with an NBA team.

Albuquerque/New Mexico Thunderbirds

The team moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and became the Albuquerque Thunderbirds beginning in the 2005–06 season.[5] They played home games at Tingley Coliseum. In their first season in New Mexico, the team won the 2006 NBA D-League Championship by defeating the Fort Worth Flyers in the championship game. In the 2006–07 season, they again made the playoffs, but were defeated by the Colorado 14ers. The Thunderbirds moved in 2010 to the Santa Ana Star Center in suburban Rio Rancho and were re-branded as the New Mexico Thunderbirds. They played just one season in Rio Rancho, finishing ninth and failing to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Thunderbirds were affiliates of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz.[6][7][8]

Canton Charge

It was announced on July 7, 2011 the Thunderbirds had been purchased by the Cleveland Cavaliers and were moving to Canton, Ohio, for the 2011–12 season.[5] Alex Jensen was named the first head coach of the Charge on October 11. On October 13, the Canton Charge name, logo, colors, and court design were unveiled.[1] On October 20, the team announced the first two players of the new team: Keith McLeod and Jamine Peterson.[9] On October 25, the new uniforms were released.[10] In the 2011 NBA D-League Draft, the Canton Charge selected Tyrell Biggs in the first round.[11] In their first game as the Canton Charge, they were defeated by the 2010-11 champions Iowa Energy in an 82-100 game at home.[12] Their first win came against the Texas Legends in their third game, which they won by 108-87.[13]

Steve Hetzel was named head coach on September 11, 2013, for 2013–14.[14]

Logos and uniforms

Huntsville Flight (2001–2005)

The first logo of the team, when it still was the Huntsville Flight, consisted of a yellow basketball with a red fighter aircraft flying around the ball, and below it was written "Huntsville" in blue and "Flight" in yellow. Their colors were red, yellow, navy and white. The home uniform was white with "Huntsville" and the numbers written in red, near the arm and in the neck there were black and navy little lines. Their away uniform was similar, but it was red instead of white and the numbers in yellow.

Albuquerque/New Mexico Thunderbirds (2005–2011)

Their logo as Albuquerque and New Mexico was the same, with just one difference, the name written below the logo. The logo consisted on a bird black head, with a basketball in its claw. Their colors were dark yellow, black, white and orange. As New Mexico, they removed the orange color and replaced with grey. Their home uniform was white, with "Thunderbirds" and the numbers written in orange, and black details on the side of the jersey. The away uniform was orange, with black details, and letters ("Albuquerque") in white. As New Mexico, it had a little change; the away uniform used "T-Birds" instead of "New Mexico".

Canton Charge (2011–present)

Under the Cleveland Cavaliers ownership, the Charge adopted a similar style. The logo consists of a musketeer style soldier, with his sword pointing forward, and below him there is written "Canton Charge" in gold and white. The musketeer hat is wine and his clothes are gold. Their colors are wine, gold and white. They have an alternate logo, similar to the "C Sword Logo" from the Cavaliers, with a sword crossing a "C". Their original home uniform was gold with details, "Charge" and the numbers written in wine. The original away uniform was the same, only with the colors swapped. When Nike took over supplying uniforms for the NBA G League for the 2017-18 season, the Charge adopted a white uniform with wine letters and gold number accents while tweaking their wine uniform set to feature navy numbers with gold accents and lettering.

Home arenas

Season-by-season

Season Division Regular season Playoffs
FinishWinsLossesPct.
Huntsville Flight
2001–025th2630.464
2002–038th2228.440
2003–043rd2422.522Won Semifinals (Charleston) 108–100
Lost D-League Finals (Asheville) 106–108
2004–053rd2721.563Lost Semifinals (Asheville) 86–90
Albuquerque Thunderbirds
2005–062nd2622.542Won Semifinals (Florida) 80–71
Won D-League Finals (Fort Worth) 119–108
2006–07Western3rd2426.480Lost Semifinals (Colorado) 100–130
2007–08Southwestern4th2228.440
2008–09Southwestern3rd2426.480
2009–10Western7th1832.360
New Mexico Thunderbirds
2010–11Western9th2030.400
Canton Charge
2011–12Eastern4th2723.540Won First Round (Springfield) 2–1
Lost Semifinals (Austin) 1–2
2012–13Eastern1st3020.600Lost First Round (Tulsa) 1–2
2013–14Eastern2nd2822.560Lost First Round (Sioux Falls) 1–2
2014–15Atlantic2nd3119.620Won First Round (Sioux Falls) 2–1
Lost Semifinals (Fort Wayne) 0–2
2015–16Central2nd3119.620Won First Round (Maine) 2–0
Lost Semifinals (Sioux Falls) 0–2
2016–17Central3rd2921.580Lost First Round (Raptors) 0–2
2017–18Central4th2228.440
2018–19Central4th2228.440
2019–20Central2nd2914.674
Regular season482469.5072001–2020
Playoffs1217.4142001–2020

Current roster

Roster listing
Canton Charge roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 12 Abdur-Rahkman, Muhammad-Ali 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1994–09–01 Michigan
F 12 Edwards, Vincent 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1996–04–05 Purdue
F 25 Herndon, Alan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1994–11–10 Wyoming
G 10 Mac, Sheldon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1992–12–21 Miami (FL)
G 55 Macura, J. P. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1995–06–05 Xavier
G 13 Mooney, Matt (TW) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 199 lb (90 kg) 1997–02–07 Texas Tech
G 14 Newman, Malik 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997–02–21 Kansas
F 15 Pointer, Sir'Dominic 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1992–05–06 St. John's
G 6 Randolph, Levi 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1992–10–03 Alabama
G 20 Stein, Alex 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997–05–02 Southern Indiana
F 32 Wade, Dean (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1996–11–20 Kansas State
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Kendall Chones
  • Tyler Neal (Basketball Operations Liaison)
  • Austin Peterson (Coaching Assistant/Video Coordinator)
  • Bryan Tibaldi
  • Josh Wiemels (Athletic Trainer)
  • Brandon Joyner (Strength & Conditioning Coach)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • (I) Inactive
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2020–02–02

Head coaches

# Head coach Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements
GWLWin%GWLWin%
1John Coffino2007–101506486.427
2Darvin Ham2010–11502030.400
3Alex Jensen2011–131005743.570945.444
4Steve Hetzel2013–14502822.560312.333
5Jordi Fernández2014–161006238.6201055.500
6Nate Reinking2016–present19310291.528202.000

NBA affiliates

Canton Charge

New Mexico Thunderbirds

Albuquerque Thunderbirds

Huntsville Flight

  • None

References

  1. "Powered by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Canton's new NBA D-League Team announces and unveils name, colors, logo and court design" (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 13, 2011. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  2. "Charge Reveal Nike Uniforms" (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 16, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  3. "Canton Charge Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  4. "Canton Charge Front Office". Canton.GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  5. "T-Birds Sold, Moving to Ohio". Albuquerque Journal. July 8, 2011.
  6. "Albuquerque Thunderbirds Welcom 2008-2009 NBA Parent Clubs". visitalbuquerque.org. March 30, 2019.
  7. "Meet the New Mexico Thunderbirds". bizjournals.com. March 30, 2019.
  8. "What G-League franchise in Birmingham means for New Orleans Pelicans". nola.com. March 30, 2019.
  9. "Canton Native Keith McLeod and Jamine Peterson Sign with Canton Charge". Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  10. "Canton CHARGE to Suit Up in Wine & Gold". NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 25, 2011. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  11. "Charge Select Tyrell Biggs With the 15th Overall Pick in the 2011 NBA Development League Draft". Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  12. Iowa Spoils Canton's Inaugural Opener
  13. Biggs Lead Charge to First-Ever Win
  14. "Steve Hetzel Named Head Coach of the Canton Charge".
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