Former NBA players Eddie Robinson and Rodney Buford join Canadian Basketball League
Former National Basketball Association (NBA) players Eddie Robinson and Rodney Buford have joined the newly established Canadian National Basketball League (NBL). Both have signed with Halifax Rainmen for the upcoming season that begins next month.
Eddie Robinson and Rodney Buford, who played five seasons in the NBA, signed their contracts on Monday morning at the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame. The Halifax management also made two other key announcements on the occasion. They announced the re-signing of their point guard Taliek Brown and forward DeAndre Thomas for their inaugural basketball league season.
Rainmen owner Andre Levingston officially announced the arrival of Robinson and Buford in-front of large media and introduced them at a news conference.
“These guys bring a wealth of experience, these guys have played at the highest level, they’re professionals and their experience is going to be priceless with our other guys. They seem really excited about it, they want to come here and work and be leaders.”
The reporters also asked couple of questions from Robinson and Buford. When a reporter asked Robinson about his reason for coming to Halifax, Robinson replied,
“I just love playing, this game will take you anywhere — it will take you all over the world.... once I got the call, I said yes immediately.”
The 35-year-old Eddie Robinson last played in NBA for Chicago Bulls in the 2003-2004 season. Before joining the league, he had a very impressive amateur career with the University of Central Oklahoma and later signed with the Charlotte Hornets as free agent in 1999. He spent two seasons with the Hornets and averaged 7.2 points and 2.7 rebounds.
The 33-year-old Rodney Buford played for the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and New Jersey Nets in his well travelled 5 year career that started when he was selected by the Miami Heat in the second round of 1999 NBA draft.
He played total of 230 games in his NBA career with an average of 6.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Buford, who has also played overseas with several European basketball clubs, will certainly prove a great benefit for the new Canadian Basketball League. Buford played for the Greek team Panthianakos BC in 2002-2003 season, and for Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2006-2007.
The Canada’s National Basketball League (NBA) will start on October 29. It will include seven teams which include Rainmen Halifax, Saint John Mills Rats, Quebec Kebs, London Lightning, Oshawa Power, Morton Miracles, and Summerside Storm.
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