2026
A TALE OF TWO JOURNYS!!
This year's Slam Chunk Championship is two very distinct journeys to the Slam Chunk Championship game between these two teams. The first team, Junior Varsity, has been a juggernaut for years. Their first championship appearance was in just the 3rd year of the league's existence and has been in the Championship game in 10 of the 15 Slam Chunk Championships which includes this one. They have won 7 of the 9 previous championship games and are the true definition of a Dynasty!!
For Memphis Rainmakers, it has been a long road as a franchise! In the 15 years of this league, this team has had 5 previous owners with 5 different franchise names. The team has been inducted into the Scrub Club in 2016 and 2018 and 5 other last place finishes within its division. Before the current ownership was established, there was only 1 playoff appearance of this team way back in 2014 when the team was named Boston Green Sox. A name that the team had for only 1 year. When the current ownership took over in 2021, it took the Rainmakers a couple of years to rebuild but last year they finally broke through with a Wild Card playoff appearance and got a win in the Wild Card round but fell short of the Championship game with a loss to Junior Varsity in the Divisional Round. Now with the bracket playing out without a matchup against them before the championship, in the previous two rounds, they have an opportunity for a rematch in this year's Slam Chunk Championship game!
The story of the head-to-head history between these two teams is very lopsided. Junior Varsity holds a 22-2 record over the Rainmakers with one of those wins coming in the previous mentioned playoff matchup last year. Junior Varsity has a 20-game win streak against the Rainmakers starting in 2014. The Rainmakers has not won a game against Junior Varsity since 2013 in the 2012-2013 season when they were named Florida Fast Break and Junior Varsity was called Multiple Migs and they were in the same division! With these statistics, it's not looking good for the Rainmakers especially against a team like Junior Varsity, but like Ewing Baby Bulls proved last year, you never know.
Regardless of the outcome, Junior Varsity is an amazing story of dynasty dominance and on the flipside, Memphis Rainmakers is proving how through good ownership a troubled franchise can be turned around in short time. Two very different but great stories for this year's Slam Chunk Championship!
2025
A FORMER DYNASTY MEETS THE CURRENT DYNASTY!!
This years Slam Chunk Championship is the 3rd Championship matchup between these two teams. The first meeting came in 2014 when Ewing Baby Bulls was in the beginning of their dynasty and when Junior Varsity was beginning to establish themselves as a dynasty themselves! In 2016 Junior Varsity won their first Slam Chunk Championship getting revenge from Ewing Baby Bulls from their loss in 2014, but the Ewing Baby Bulls dynasty was not over just yet. IN 2017 the Baby Bulls were back in the Championship making it their 4th Championship appearance in 5 years, winning 3 of those Championship opportunities.
By 2018 it seemed that the torch had been passed on to Junior Varsity who proceeded to win 7 of the last 8 Championships and has been an absolute juggernaut in the league since then with those championships, incredible winning streaks and multiple undefeated seasons since then!
All time head-to-head, Ewing Baby Bulls has seemed to have been one of the few franchises evenly matched with Junior Varsity with an all-time head-to-head record even at 7-7 and 2-2 in the playoffs. Two of those playoff matchups were the 2 Slam Chunk Championships in which they split 1 to 1. The other two playoff matchups were in 2017 when the Baby Bulls won in the Divisional Rd and went on to win their last Championship victory since then! The other was in 2019 when Junior Varsity was the victor and went on to win their 3rd Championship in 4 years and was beginning to establish themselves as the dynasty that they are today!
Will we see the beginning of the repassing of the baton too and new dynasty? Or will Junior Varsity continue to dominate? At the end of this Championship matchup, we may get the answers to both of those questions. It's definitely going to be one of the more exciting matchup that we've seen in the league for a while, that's for sure!!
2024
IT'S A SLAM CHUNK CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH REMATCH!!
This years Slam Chunk Championship is the 3rd Championship matchup between these same two teams in the last 6 years! Although Tampa Bay Extreme has a rich playoff history having made the playoffs in 10 of league's 13 year history, they are still looking for their first Slam Chunk Championship. Unfortunately for them though, they have a very good team that is caught in the dynasty of an absolutely dominating team in Junior Varsity!!
Tampa Bay Extreme is the big underdog in this one especially considering that they are down in the lifetime series 5-13, 0-2, 5-15 against Junior Varsity, and are on a 10-game losing streak vs them as well, not getting a victory vs them since week 3 of the 2016-2017 Season!
From Junior Varsity's perspective, they are looking to add their 7th Slam Chunk Championship in 9 years to their resume! They have without a doubt proven to be a tough out considering that they have a current 51-game winning streak and have not lost a single matchup since 2021, leaving everyone who follows the league to wonder if defeating Junior Varsity in the Championship can be done!!
If Tampa Bay Extreme is to win their first Slam Chunk Championship ever, it's going to be by way of a very impressive underdog upset! Can it be done?!? Stay tuned and see!
2023
The 2023 Championship is a rematch of the 2018 Championship where the #2 seed Junior Varsity defeated the #5 seed South Amboy River Rats 604-410. That Championship was the 1st of a threepeat and the 2nd Championship of what would become a 5 of 7 year championship dynasty. This year Junior Varsity is the #1 seed and South Amboy River Rats is the #3 seed. Junior Varsity is going for their 2nd straight championship and trying to make it championship number 6 in the last 8 years!! South Amboy River Rats is going for Championship #3 winning the previous championships in 2015 and 2021! The lifetime head to head matchups between these two has Junior Varsity with the clear advantage with a 10-6 regular season record and a 6-14 overall record vs the River Rats. South Amboy River Rats has never defeated Junior Varsity in the playoffs at 0-4. Losses came in 2016 in the divisional round, 2017 in the wild card rd, 2018 in the Championship, and last season in the Divisional Round again. South Amboy River Rats scored more points last round in their victory than Junior Varsity did but with Junior Varsity on a 27 game win streak, can the River Rats do it again with Junior Varsity on the other side of the scorecard? We will surely see.
2022
The 2022 Championship pits the #1 seed Junior Varsity vs the #2 seed Tampa Bay Extreme (formerly Riverview Rim Rockers) together and is a rematch of the 2019 Championship!
This is the 6th Championship appearance for Junior Varsity in which they've won championships in 4 of those last 5 appearances one of those appearances being the 2019 championship vs their 2022 opponent! The only loss in the championship was in 2014 when the Ewing Baby Bulls dynasty was dominant at that time. Now after a 1 year break from the championship game, JV is going for #5!!
This is only the 2nd championship appearance for Tampa Bay Extreme. The 1st season after the team's name change and 3 years after their last appearance the Riverview Rim Rockers/ Tampa Bay Extreme are back. This will prove to be a tough test considering they have a 7 game losing streak against JV with the last win coming in 2016. However, the team has consistently been one of the leagues powerhouse teams making the playoffs in 7 of the 10 years of the league's existence and with #1 overall picks in 2017 and 2018 has really made the roster a force to be reckoned with!
The projections predict a tight championship game and so it should be a fun one to follow! Here we go! Let's get it on!!
2021
South Amboy River Rats win Championship #2!
Your new 2021 Slam Chunk Dynasty Champion
South Amboy River Rats!!!
Their last championship was 2015!