How Khalil Ahmad Carried a Cool Confidence from California to Canada

The first thing that comes to Khalil Ahmad’s mind when he thinks back on his maiden CEBL title is a miss.

Ahmad, long since known as the league’s Clutch King, was absent only the Championship Trophy to complete his wide-ranging, impressive set of league accomplishments.

Yet with a chance to ice the Niagara River Lions’ first title, the sharp-shooting, cool-as-a-cucumber Corona, Calif., native missed a free throw.

Before Ahmad knew it, then-Vancouver Bandits guard Koby McEwen nailed a three-pointer on the other end, and both teams were one point away from victory.

But Ahmad had a shot at redemption.

“And then it was kind of just, there was no play. It wasn't a play call. Just make something happen. And finished the play, got the chip. So that was all she wrote,” Ahmad recalled in a recent interview.

Except, well, the story didn’t end there.

A celebration ensued in Montreal as one of the CEBL’s most storied teams finally earned its first banner.

Now, Ahmad and the River Lions are on the hunt to become the second team in league history to successfully run it back.

At 12-5, Niagara leads the Eastern Conference by four games and has already punched its playoff ticket.

“For guys to be able to sacrifice [their overseas off-season] and come back and compete and be together for something bigger than themselves, I think that's a testament to our togetherness and the amazing club that we have,” Ahmad said.

Ahmad, 28, is in his fourth season with the River Lions, and quickly climbing the all-time league leaderboards.

Somewhat ironically, given how the 2024 Finals played out, Ahmad has made more free throws and nailed more Target Score Winners than anyone in league history. He is also the CEBL’s all-time steals leader.

It’s those finishes, though, that have become Ahmad’s calling card. His 28 winners are 10 more than second-place Cat Barber in the all-time ranks.

He said compounding confidence in those situations has helped him continue to succeed.

“Confidence can take you places you would've never expected to go before and have you do things you never expected to do,” he said.

Growing up in California, it’s impossible that Ahmad would have ever expected to become the face of a Canadian professional basketball league.

The CEBL didn’t even exist when Ahmad starred at Centennial High School in Corona. He went on to play four years at Cal State Fullerton, breaking the 1,000-point barrier for his career — as he’s now done in the CEBL, too — and reaching the NCAA tournament in 2018, when his 15th-seeded Titans fell to No. 2 Purdue.

Still, Ahmad carries that cool southern California swagger with him even as he competes in southern Ontario.

“I definitely would say that I'm pretty nonchalant as a person. My friends tell me that all the time, but it helps a lot, you know? I can keep a cool head, stay focused, stay in the moment, don't get too high, don't get too low. And I think that's the perfect level to be at,” Ahmad said.

Head coach Victor Raso has been with Ahmad for all four years of his CEBL journey.

They’ve experienced those up and downs together and shared the joy of that first championship one year ago in Montreal.

For Raso, it’s comforting knowing he has such a reliable star player.

“Like that that musician or painter, they're themselves in their own world but when they're doing the craft it's like this [different] person comes out and that's Khalil,” Raso said.

“Since Day 1, he's a mental monster and he's physically gifted, he works hard and he's just coachable. And we've had our struggles too, we've gone through losses and recommitted to each other, each and every year. And to see him last year just a switch flip mentally, that he was going to be super solid, and he was going to show everyone that he's a winner … it's like, this is an unbelievable basketball player.”

Outside of the court, Ahmad holds his Japanese heritage close to his heart.

His father was born there — and he’s honoured his background with tattoos, in addition to learning the culture through his grandmother, through books and through cooking.

If you’re wondering, Ahmad says his specialty is a Japanese-inspired salmon recipe.

He said his hope is to one day represent Japan as a basketball player on the national team, though there are certain citizenship hurdles he still must jump through.

“If I can get the opportunity to make that happen, that would be amazing,” he said.

For now, Ahmad’s sights sets are set on a second consecutive title. His River Lions are once again among the league’s top teams — despite a rocky start to the season, they’ve won five straight to re-establish themselves as a legitimate threat.

A trip to Winnipeg for Championship Weekend in August is starting to feel likelier than not.

After a recent victory, in which the River Lions clinched a playoff spot, Raso said they weren’t done there.

“We wanna win the East. We wanna win the championship,” he said. “Our standards are much higher. We expect to make the playoffs.”

Likewise, Ahmad is focused on one goal only.

“Hey, we're trying to run it back.”

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