Alberta Dusters
CBA 1980-1982

Canada's first CBA team came from, of all places, Lethbridge, Alberta. Originally, Lethbridge was to be part of a Canadian basketball league, which would be operated by a businessman from Hamilton, Ontario. Lethbridge businessman Jack Molcak thought a pro franchise for his city would be a good idea, and signed on with the project. But when the Canadian basketball league project collapsed without even fielding a single team, Molcak contacted CBA Commissioner Jim Drucker, whose Continental Basketball Association already stretched from New York to Alaska, from Maine to Hawaii. After agreeing to an unbalanced schedule, which reduced the franchise's travel expenses, the Alberta Dusters were born.

The opening roster did contain some Canadian talent, as Fred Lee Jr. (6'2") played his college ball with Brandon (Man.) in the Canada West Conference, but the rest of the squad was made up of players from America.

The franchise also had a very interesting policy regarding season ticket purchases. Fans could pay for the tickets either with cash, or with bushels of grain.

Although the Dusters never had a winning season in their two years of existence, one of their alumni, Kurt Nimphius, later starred in the NBA. Another alumni, Kenny Natt, is on the CBA's all-time scoring list.

After the 1981-82 season, the franchise relocated to Las Vegas and was renamed the Silvers.

             W   L  PCT   GB     Result
1980-1981   11  31  .262  16     lost in quarterfinals

             W   L   QW     QP   Result
1981-1982   12  34  .261  117.5  did not make playoffs

1980-1981 Lost in quarterfinals to Billings, 0 games to 2
1981-1982 did not make playoffs