JOHN ROSS

The Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) are excited to announce John Ross as assistant general manager. John has spent the better part of the past two decades working in basketball, highlighted by over 14 years with the Portland Trail Blazers and more recently as an assistant coach with the Western Conference Champion Calgary Surge in 2025. 

With Portland, John worked as a video coordinator with both the coaching and scouting staff. He played a pivotal role in the organization's 2009-2011 stretch of playoff appearances, and also their rebuild starting with the draft acquisitions of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. This backcourt duo was the catalyst for eight consecutive playoff appearances between 2014-2021, including a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2019.

Since moving on from the Trail Blazers in 2022, John has expanded his work experience to both coaching, and teaching. As an assistant coach with the Calgary Surge in 2025, he helped lift the Surge to their second finals appearance in franchise history, after posting a 17-7 record on the season.

In terms of teaching, John founded an organization called GET IN THE GAME 101, an educational resource designed to assist young adults in answering the question “What do I do to get a job in the NBA?”. Here, John provides his insights into what it takes to move your career into the biggest stage that basketball has to offer. You can follow his substack here to read more. 

Beyond basketball, John is a humanitarian, serving at-risk children for over a decade in Zimbabwe and making multiple visits to Ukraine to support refugee relief.