The Windsor Express, a two-time championship Canadian professional basketball team, has secured its second-place seeding in the 2025 Basketball Super League (BSL) Playoffs and will advanced directly to the semi-finals (Round 2). The BSL is comprised of pro teams in Canada and the United States. The Windsor Express is now set to enter the best-of-five series with an opponent to be determined following the League’s Play-In games.
Regardless of the opponent, Game 1 of the BSL Playoffs for The Windsor Express begins on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the WFCU Centre in Windsor Ontario Canada, an estimated 15-minute drive from the Windsor – Detroit Tunnel in downtown Windsor. Game 2 will be held on Sunday, April 6 at 2:00 p.m. at the WFCU Centre. The date and time for a Game 5, if necessary, will be announced.
“We are excited to have been one of the top two teams in this international alignment of teams in the BSL, which gave us a bye,” said Willis, who was born and raised in Detroit and is an alum of Wayne State University and Lawrence Tech. “We are ready to play whoever we have to face. Coming off a successful 20 – 9 season in 2024 -25, our guys are raring to take the next step towards winning a title, which would be the team’s third championship.”
As President & CEO of the Windsor Express since 2012, Willis, a graduate of Detroit’s Denby High School, is one of the first African Americans to own a professional Canadian sports team. Willis currently is one of less than a handful of African Americans or Black Canadians to ever own a sports team in Canada. Tennis legend Serena Williams recently joined the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, the WNBA’s first Canadian franchise, which begins play in 2026.
The Windsor Express is coached by native Detroiter Bill Jones, who played basketball at Detroit’s Southwestern High School, the University of Iowa, and for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets. Jones has coached the Express since its inception, guiding the Canadian team to two National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) Championships.
“While we’ve had a great regular season, the Playoffs is a different animal,” said Jones. “Every possession is critical, mistakes are magnified, and every stop is meaningful. Our players, coaching staff, and our fans will be ready to show up like we have throughout the season. I really like our chances of winning it all.”
The Express, following other NBL teams, joined the BSL in 2023. The BSL, which markets itself as the top basketball league in North America outside of the NBA and NBA G-League, is comprised of pro teams from Canada and the United States.
In addition to Willis and Jones having long and deep Detroit roots, the Windsor Express has several players on its roster with affiliations in or close to the Motor City, including electrifying guard Latin Davis, a Ypsilanti native, who played college basketball at Wayne State University.
For more information about the Windsor Express and the upcoming Playoffs, log on to https://www.windsorexpress.ca.
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