Canadian basketball player Chad Posthumus dead at 33 after brain aneurysm

WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg and Canadian basketball communities are mourning after Chad Posthumus, a founding player of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, died Wednesday at 33.

The CEBL's Winnipeg Sea Bears said Thursday that Posthumus, the team's captain, suffered a brain aneurysm during a training session in Winnipeg on Nov. 9.

He then battled complications from a corrective surgery that left him in critical condition in the intensive care unit and did not recover.

“Chad was and will always remain the face of our team,” the Sea Bears wrote in a statement. “After a long, successful career playing abroad and for Team Canada, Chad was so excited to finally play professional basketball in his hometown, and he gave so much of his time and energy to both the team and our community. For that, we are eternally grateful.

“With Chad, we’ve won, lost and experienced joy together, and now we must come together again in grief, and mourn his loss.”

Posthumus, a Winnipeg native, played for the CEBL's Saskatchewan Rattlers, Ottawa BlackJacks, Edmonton Stingers and Brampton Honey Badgers before joining his hometown team as the first signing in Sea Bears history in 2023.

The six-foot-11 forward helped lead Saskatchewan to the inaugural CEBL championship in 2019.

“Chad had a love for people and for the game of basketball that lit up even the largest arenas,” the CEBL wrote in a statement. “His spirit and passion touched the hearts of fans and inspired teammates and all of us blessed to have shared Chad’s all-too-brief life with him.”

CEBL commissioner Mike Morreale called Posthumus “a champion on and off the court” who was “as big in life and happiness as he was in size and strength.”

“It was hard not to notice Chad, almost seven feet of him, that big smile, his love for the game, his teammates, fans and family,” Morreale posted to X, formerly Twitter.

"This news will reverberate across the basketball world, in his hometown of Winnipeg, and to the thousands that he touched along his journey.”

Off the court, Posthumus was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at seven years old and became an advocate for managing the condition with a healthy lifestyle. In lieu of flowers, the Posthumus family asks for donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

“Devastated to learn Chad Posthumus has died. He had a huge heart and magnetic personality that matched his physical size,” wrote Winnipeg mayor Scott Gillingham on X. “As a local boy, he was a favourite for (Sea Bears) fans and was dedicated to our community. My deepest condolences to Chad’s family and the Sea Bears organization.”

Posthumus became an All-Manitoba and a top-five player in Canadian high school basketball with the River East Collegiate Kodiaks in Winnipeg, averaging 39 points, 25 rebounds and seven blocks in his senior year.

He spent his freshman season in college basketball at the University of British Columbia before playing at Howard College, where he was an Academic All-American with a 4.0 GPA as a redshirt sophomore in 2011-12.

"A member of the blue and gold from 2009-2011, Chad enjoyed success across the globe and touched the lives of countless teammates, coaches and fans," UBC said in a statement.

Posthumus eventually transferred to Morehead State University in NCAA Division I. He ranked second in the NCAA with 10.9 rebounds per game during his senior season in 2013-14, earning All-Ohio Valley Conference honours.

The summer after his graduation, Posthumus participated in the NBA Summer League with the Chicago Bulls. His professional career before the CEBL also included stops in Japan and Argentina.

Internationally, Posthumus played for the 3x3 national team, representing Canada at the 3x3 AmeriCup in 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press