Bandits re-sign franchise all-time leading scorer Ward
Published
The Vancouver Bandits announced Wednesday that the club has signed its all-time leading scorer and fan favourite, Nick Ward, for the remainder of the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season.
Entering his third consecutive season with the club, the 6-foot-9 centre set several club records with the Bandits during the 2024 CEBL campaign. Across 39 regular season and playoff appearances, he established himself as the franchise’s leader in both scoring (730 points) and rebounding (301 rebounds).
Ward finished 2024 as a First Team All-CEBL selection, with averages of 16.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20 regular season games played including 16 starts.
The Gahanna, Ohio product recently finished the 2024-25 overseas basketball season with Portuguese club Sporting CP where he helped lead the club to a semifinal appearance in the LBP playoffs earlier this year. His international basketball career also includes stints in the NBA Summer League (Atlanta Hawks, 2019), NBA G League (College Park Skyhawks, 2019-20), and professional teams in France, Lithuania, Kosovo, Bahrain, Spain, and Turkey.
Prior to turning professional, Ward played three seasons of NCAA DI basketball at Michigan State University from 2016 to 2019. He averaged 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game on 60.5 per cent field goal shooting percentage, which ranks him third all-time among Big Ten Conference men’s basketball players. During the the 2018-19 season, he earned an All-Big Ten third-team selection and played a key role in leading the Spartans to an NCAA Tournament Final Four appearance.
Fans will have their first chance to see “The Warden” in a Bandits uniform this year on Saturday, June 28 at 7 p.m. PT when Vancouver hosts the Saskatchewan Rattlers at Langley Events Centre as part of the club’s second-annual Filipino Celebration Game, presented by Westland Insurance, Guildford Town Centre and Fix Auto.