Maximum Basketball League

The Maximum Basketball League (MBL) is a semi-professional men's basketball league which operates in the United States.

Maximum Basketball League

Formerly	Midwest Basketball League (2015-19)
Sport	Basketball
Founded	2015
Founder	Michael A. Wright
Inaugural season	2015
No. of teams	45
Country	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Fort Wayne Vision (2019)
Most titles	2 (Cedar Valley CourtKings)
Official website	officialMBL.org

History

Established in 2015 by founder Michael A. Wright, the Midwest Basketball League (MBL) was rebranded the Maximum Basketball League following the 2019 season when Wright stepped away.[1]

Eleven teams competed in the inaugural 2016 season. Regular season games began in April 2016 followed by a post-season in August 2016.[2][3]

After five games the Chicago Clovers were removed from the league. Lincoln Lions, who were playing a limited schedule as a "branding" team, took the place of the Clovers. Northern Indiana Monarchs also were removed after playing seven games although they would return to the league as Indy Show.

New management took command after the 2019 season which was followed by 13 teams leaving MBL. For the 2020 season 34 new teams are scheduled to compete. Only the Indiana Dream and Naptown Pros (formerly the Indy Show) remain from the inaugural season.

Teams

West Division	City	1st season
Chicago Legends	Chicago, Illinois	2017
Eagan Bulldogs	Eagan, Minnesota	2018
Elkhart Mavericks	Elkhart, Indiana	2020
Game Solid	Lansing, Michigan	2020
Midwest Storm	Janesville, Wisconsin	2020
Milwaukee Wizards	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	2020
North Minneapolis Eagles	Minneapolis, Minnesota	2017
East Division	City	1st season
Dayton Eagles	Dayton, Ohio	2020
Fort Wayne Bubba Ballers	Fort Wayne, Indiana	2018
Fort Wayne Vision	Fort Wayne, Indiana	2017
Indiana Dream	Muncie, Indiana	2016
Michigan Avengers	St. Clair Shores, Michigan	2020
Nationwide Hoops	Detroit, Michigan	2020
Team NetWork	Detroit, Michigan	2020
Central Division	City	1st season
Cincinnati Crush	Cincinnati, Ohio	2020
Derby City Flash	Louisville, Kentucky	2020
Kentucky Enforcers	Florence, Kentucky	2020
Kentucky Rebels	Louisville, Kentucky	2020
Music City Kings	Nashville, Tennessee	2020
Naptown Pros	Indianapolis, Indiana	2016
Northeast Division	City	1st season
Bronx Holy Storm	Bronx, New York	2020
Flower City Monarchs	Rochester, New York	2020
Mount Vernon Power	Mount Vernon, New York	2020
New York Holy Storm	Bronx, New York	2020
Philadelphia Pioneers	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	2020
Mideast Division	City	1st season
Atlanta Grizzlies	Atlanta, Georgia	2020
Atlanta Wildcats	Atlanta, Georgia	2020
Charleston Panthers	Charleston, South Carolina	2020
Fayetteville Flight	Fayetteville, North Carolina	2020
Rockers International	Atlanta, Georgia	2020
Midsouth Division	City	1st season
DFW Just Hoop	Fort Worth, Texas	2020
DFW Kingsmen	Dallas, Texas	2020
North Texas Prowlers	Argyle, Texas	2020
Questlife Warriors	Dallas, Texas	2018
West Tennessee Heat	Bolivar, Tennessee	2020
Southeast Division	City	1st season
Central Georgia Rattlers	Macon, Georgia	2020
Delta Elite	Atlanta, Georgia	2020
Georgia Bombers	Ludowici, Georgia	2020
Savannah Cavaliers	Savannah, Georgia	2020
Southeast Shooters	Atlanta, Georgia	2020
South Division	City	1st season
ArkLaTex Takeover	Shreveport, Louisiana	2020
Dallas Kings	Dallas, Texas	2018
Fort Worth Wolves	Fort Worth, Texas	2018
Oklahoma Tatanka	Muskogee, Oklahoma	2020
Texas Revelation	Dallas, Texas	2018

Former teams

• Arlington Dream Chasers (2018-2019)
• Bay Area Titans (2018-2019)
• Cedar Valley CourtKings (2016-2019)
• Central Indiana Crusaders (2016-2019)
• Chicago Clovers (2016) - removed from the league after five games
• Chicago Fury (2016-2019)
• Chicago Knights (2017-2019)
• Dayton Air Strikers (2016-2018)
• Hamilton Heroes (2016)
• Illinois Bulldogs (2017)
• Indiana Fury (2016-2019)
• Iowa Elite Pro (2018-2019)
• Kentucky Flash (2016-2018)
• Lincoln Lions (2016-18)
• Milwaukee Wizards (2017) - returned in 2020
• Minnesota Arctic Blast (2017)
• Minnesota Broncos (2016-2019)
• Minnesota Lakers (2016-2019)
• Minnesota Pitbulls (2017)
• North Minneapolis Eagles (2017-2019) - returned in 2020
• Rochester Roadrunners (2017-2019)
• Springfield Panthers (2017-2019)
• TC Elite (2017-2019)
• Wisconsin Game Changers (2017)
• Wisconsin/Milwaukee Storm (2016-2017)

Champions

Season	Winner	Runner-up	Result
2016	Cedar Valley CourtKings	Minnesota Rangers	108-98 [4]
2017	Cedar Valley CourtKings	Fort Wayne Vision	121-106 [5][6]
2018	Twin Cities Elite	Fort Wayne Vision	106-104 [7]
2019	Fort Wayne Vision	Eagan Bulldogs	107-106

References

1. "MBL makes name change". Maximum Basketball League. August 19, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
2. "Professional basketball returning to Cedar Valley". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. December 18, 2015.
3. "Welcome to the new home of the MBL". Midwest Basketball League. July 23, 2015.
4. "Ellison's pro team wins championship". USA Today High School Sports. August 22, 2016.
5. "MBL champion CourtKings return to Comet Gym on Saturday". Charles City Press. March 26, 2018.
6. "Midwest Basketball League: CourtKings eye three-peat". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. April 1, 2018.
7. "Former Gopher Gaston Diedhiou Wins Semi-Pro Basketball Championship". Zone Coverage. July 29, 2018.

External links

• Maximum Basketball League