Langley-based Bandits keeping Surrey talent
Published 9:00 am Monday, July 20, 2026
The Vancouver Bandits announced Friday that the club has re-signed homegrown talent James Karnik for the remainder of the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season.
A 6-foot-9 forward from Surrey, Karnik is set to compete in his fourth CEBL campaign. He has appeared in 29 games for the club dating back to the 2022 season, averaging 10.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.
During the 2025-26 season, Karnik suited up for three different teams: Neptunas Klaipeda in Lithuania, Basquet Girona in Spain, and IHC Apes in Mongolia, where he helped the latter to a domestic championship. His international career also featured previous playing stints in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Karnik represents the Czech Republic in international FIBA play by way of naturalized citizenship. His most recent call up to the national team was for the 2027 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers, which were held earlier this month.
Prior to turning professional, Karnik played five years of NCAA DI basketball between Lehigh University (2017-20) and Boston College (2020-22), while he played high school basketball at Earl Marriott Secondary in Surrey and BC Christian Academy in Port Coquitlam before transferring to Orangeville Prep in Mono, Ont.
All CEBL regular season games including playoffs will be live-streamed on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, the CEBL Mobile app, the CBC Gem app and the CBC Sports YouTube channel. Marquee games will air nationally on CBC TV.
More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter.
The Bandits are British Columbia’s professional basketball team, the westernmost club in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), and play at Langley Events Centre (LEC).
The CEBL has 10 member clubs across six provinces. In 2025, the CEBL featured 17 players with NBA experience, and nearly 70 per cent of its athletes were Canadian – the highest proportion of domestic talent in any professional sports league in the country.