Vancouver Bandits have won Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Franchise of the Year in a near sweep of the league's  annual Business Awards.

Bandits won three of four awards, also recognized as recipients in two other categories; Digital Excellence and Community Champion. 

鈥淲e are honoured to be recognized by the CEBL for these three awards of distinction. Each award is  a product of the hard work of our front office, as well as the supportive and collaborative relationships that we have built with our partners,鈥� said Bandits team president Dylan Kular. 

It was a good year for the club, which produced the league鈥檚 MVP (Taz茅 Moore), Canadian Player of the Year (Koby McEwen) and Coach of the Year (Kyle Julius) at the 2024 CEBL Awards, while earning a berth in the CEBL Championship Final for the second time in franchise history.

Bandits registered their best regular season record ever with a 14-6 finish, securing first place overall and the top seed in the CEBL Playoffs for the first time. Vancouver went near-perfect at home (9-1) and posted a league-best plus-177 overall point differential, almost 50 points better than the next closest team.

On the digital side, Bandits amassed a league-best 8.5+ million social media impressions, finished second among CEBL clubs in newsletter subscription growth, third in social media follower growth, and had the third-most new CEBL+ subscriptions (preferred team upon registration).

On Tik Tok, Bandits had the highest followership, reach, engagement and overall growth of all CEBL teams.

Among community initiatives in 2024, the Bandits created a special edition jersey featuring Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope with proceeds donated to the Terry Fox Foundation in support of cancer research across Canada.

Bandits also launched the Inspiring Bandits Award, a community-driven program that provides scholarships and ongoing mentorship to graduating high school girls and boys student-athletes competing at the BC School Sports Basketball Provincial Championships.

The club also facilitated more than 50 middle or secondary school visits featuring free instructional training from Bandits head coach and general manager, Kyle Julius, often with both the school鈥檚 boys and girls basketball teams.

As well, the club helped refurbish the Pitt Meadows Recreation Centre court in honour of RCMP Constable Rick O鈥橞rien, hosted their third annual BC Basketball Festival at 91原创 Events Centre, held three cultural heritage theme games (Filipino Heritage Game, South Asian Heritage Game, Indigenous Celebration Game) all ranking in the top five of highest attended Bandits games in 2024, and became the first CEBL team to launch a South Asian Heritage jersey.

The Bandits鈥� seventh CEBL season will tip-off in May 2025.