| 2020–21 NBL season | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National Basketball League | ||||||||||||
| Season | 2020–21 | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 15 January – 25 June 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Games played | 162 | ||||||||||||
| Teams | 9 | ||||||||||||
| TV partners | Australia:New Zealand:Online: | ||||||||||||
| Regular season | |||||||||||||
| Season champions | Melbourne United | ||||||||||||
| Cup champions | Perth Wildcats (1st title) | ||||||||||||
| Cup runners-up | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | ||||||||||||
| SeasonMVP |  Bryce Cotton (Perth) | ||||||||||||
| Finals | |||||||||||||
| Champions | Melbourne United (6th title) | ||||||||||||
| Runners-up | Perth Wildcats | ||||||||||||
| Semifinalists | Illawarra Hawks S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | ||||||||||||
| FinalsMVP |  Jock Landale (Melbourne) | ||||||||||||
| Statistical leaders | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Records | |||||||||||||
| Biggest home win | 29 points Phoenix 106–77 Taipans (19 March 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Biggest away win | 32 points Hawks 63–95 Phoenix (1 April 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Highest scoring | 227 points Bullets 108–119 Kings (13 March 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Winning streak | 11 games Melbourne United (21 March – 2 May 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Losing streak | 8 games Cairns Taipans (25 April – 26 May 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Highest attendance | 12,185 –RAC Arena Wildcats vs United (4 June 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Lowest attendance | 809 –John Cain Arena Bullets vs Hawks Taipans vs Wildcats (26 February 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 572,950 | ||||||||||||
| Average attendance | 3,951 | ||||||||||||
| NBL seasons | |||||||||||||
| All statistics correct as of 25 June 2021. | |||||||||||||
The2020–21 NBL season was the 43rd season of theNational Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested in the 2020–21 season. The regular season was played between January and June 2021, followed by a post-season in June 2021.
Australian broadcast rights to the season were held bySBS Viceland in the second year of a two-year deal. All games were available live and free on streaming platforms such asSBS On Demand.ESPN also broadcast select games, including all games after 7.30pm AEDT.[1] In New Zealand,Sky Sport were the official league broadcaster.[2] The NBL continued broadcasting games online onTwitch in the second year of a two-year deal.[3]
Nine teams competed in the 2020–21 season, with theTasmania JackJumpers set to enter the league for the2021–22 season.[4]
During the off-season theIllawarra Hawks were renamed to The Hawks after the new ownership group announced they wanted to expand out from Illawarra and into the wider region.[5]
On 9 February 2021, the NBL reinstated the Illawarra Hawks name following an increase in support from the local community.[6]
Free agency negotiations were delayed until 15 July 2020, after the NBL and the Australian Basketball Players' Association postponed the original start date of 30 March 2020 due to the effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[7][8] On 17 April 2020, the NBL, the Australian Basketball Players' Association and the nine clubs reached an agreement in response to the financial pressure caused by the pandemic, which reduced the salaries of players signed for the 2020–21 season, lowered the full-time roster positions from 11 to 10 players (plus a Next Star slot) and from three import slots to two import slots.[9]
| Team | Role | 2019–20 season | 2020–21 season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide 36ers | Head coach | Joey Wright | Conner Henry |
| Assistant | Kevin Brooks | Jamie Pearlman | |
| Darren Golley | N/A | ||
| Andrew Jantke | |||
| Brisbane Bullets | Assistant | Sam Mackinnon | Greg Vanderjagt |
| Mick Downer | N/A | ||
| Illawarra Hawks | Head coach | Matt Flinn | Brian Goorjian |
| Assistant | Ben Bagoly | Jacob Jackomas | |
| Eric Cooks | Shaun Roger | ||
| Tyson Demos | N/A | ||
| Melbourne United | Assistant | Ross McMains | Darryl McDonald |
| New Zealand Breakers | Assistant | Zico Coronel | Chanel Pompallier |
| N/A | Jacob Mooallem | ||
| SEM Phoenix | Assistant | Ian Stacker | N/A |
| Sydney Kings | Head coach | Will Weaver | Adam Forde |
| Assistant | Adam Forde | Kevin Lisch | |
| N/A | Sam Gruggen | ||
| Lachlan Lonergan |
Thepre-season games began on 13 November 2020, and ran until 10 January 2021.[10]
| 2020–21 NBL pre-season ladder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ladder | Information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Rounds Total Games Legend
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The regular season which was due to begin in early October, began on 15 January 2021 after it was delayed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] It consisted of 162 games spread across 21 rounds, with the final game being played on 8 June 2021.
| Pos | 2020–21 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | |
| 1 | Melbourne United | 36 | 28 | 8 | 77.78% | 4–1 | W3 | 14–4 | 14–4 | 3189 | 2956 | 107.88% |
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 36 | 25 | 11 | 69.44% | 3–2 | L2 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 3133 | 2900 | 108.03% |
| 3 | Illawarra Hawks | 36 | 20 | 16 | 55.56% | 4–1 | L1 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 2962 | 2954 | 100.27% |
| 4 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 36 | 19 | 17 | 52.78% | 2–3 | L1 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 3217 | 3124 | 102.98% |
| 5 | Sydney Kings | 36 | 19 | 17 | 52.78% | 4–1 | W3 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 3112 | 3087 | 100.81% |
| 6 | Brisbane Bullets | 36 | 18 | 18 | 50.00% | 4–1 | W1 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 3204 | 3274 | 97.86% |
| 7 | Adelaide 36ers | 36 | 13 | 23 | 36.11% | 0–5 | L7 | 10–8 | 3–15 | 2985 | 3156 | 94.58% |
| 8 | New Zealand Breakers | 36 | 12 | 24 | 33.33% | 2–3 | L1 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 2937 | 3021 | 97.22% |
| 9 | Cairns Taipans | 36 | 8 | 28 | 22.22% | 1–4 | L2 | 6–12 | 2–16 | 2940 | 3207 | 91.67% |
Updated to match(es) played on 9 June 2021. Source:NBL.com.au
| 2020–21 NBL season | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | NBL Cup | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | |||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Adelaide 36ers | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 6 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Cairns Taipans | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Melbourne United | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New Zealand Breakers | – | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Perth Wildcats | – | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Sydney Kings | 5 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
The 2020–21 season sees the introduction of theNBL Cup, which was a tournament based inMelbourne ran from 20 February to 14 March 2021.[12]
| Pos | 2021 NBL Cup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | QW | Pts | |
| 1 | Perth Wildcats | 8 | 7 | 1 | 87.50% | 4–1 | W3 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 745 | 680 | 109.56% | 18.5 | 39.5 |
| 2 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 8 | 5 | 3 | 62.50% | 3–2 | W3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 748 | 704 | 106.25% | 18.5 | 33.5 |
| 3 | Brisbane Bullets | 8 | 5 | 3 | 62.50% | 3–2 | L1 | 5–3 | 2–2 | 795 | 785 | 101.27% | 17.5 | 32.5 |
| 4 | Melbourne United | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50.00% | 2–3 | L3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 674 | 677 | 99.56% | 17 | 29 |
| 5 | Sydney Kings | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50.00% | 2–3 | W1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 747 | 729 | 102.47% | 16.5 | 28.5 |
| 6 | Illawarra Hawks | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50.00% | 3–2 | W2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 698 | 693 | 100.72% | 16.5 | 28.5 |
| 7 | New Zealand Breakers | 8 | 3 | 5 | 37.50% | 2–3 | L2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 703 | 710 | 99.01% | 13 | 22 |
| 8 | Adelaide 36ers | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25.00% | 1–4 | L2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 673 | 751 | 89.61% | 14 | 20 |
| 9 | Cairns Taipans | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25.00% | 1–4 | L3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 677 | 731 | 92.61% | 12.5 | 18.5 |
Updated to match(es) played on 14 March 2021. Source:nblcup.com.au
Perth Wildcats won the inaugural NBL Cup trophy with a 7–1 record in eight games played.[13]
The2021 NBL Finals was played in June 2021, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final series and a best-of-fiveGrand Final series. In the semi-finals, the higher seed hosted the first and third games. In the Grand Final, the higher seed usually hosts the first, third and fifth games. However, due to the border restrictions by the Western Australian state government, Perth Wildcats (the lower seed) hosted the first two games, while Melbourne United hosted the third game (and would have also hosted the fourth and fifth games had they not already won the series by the third game).
| Semifinals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne United | 96 | 79 | 84 | |||||||||||
| 4 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 78 | 90 | 74 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne United | 73 | 83 | 81 | X | X | |||||||||
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 70 | 74 | 76 | X | X | |||||||||
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 72 | 75 | 79 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Illawarra Hawks | 74 | 71 | 71 | |||||||||||
| Rounds | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Justin Simon | The Hawks |
| Round 2 | Isaac Humphries | Adelaide 36ers |
| Round 3 | Vic Law | Brisbane Bullets |
| Nathan Sobey | ||
| Round 4 | Scott Machado | Cairns Taipans |
| Round 5 | Tyler Harvey | Illawarra Hawks |
| Round 6 | Mitch Creek | South East Melbourne Phoenix |
| Round 7 | Mitch McCarron | Melbourne United |
| Round 8 | John Mooney | Perth Wildcats |
| Round 9 | Josh Giddey | Adelaide 36ers |
| Round 10 | Bryce Cotton | Perth Wildcats |
| Round 11 | John Mooney | Perth Wildcats |
| Round 12 | Jarell Martin | Sydney Kings |
| Round 13 | Tyler Harvey | Illawarra Hawks |
| Round 14 | Cameron Oliver | Cairns Taipans |
| Round 15 | Jordan Hunter | Sydney Kings |
| Round 16 | John Mooney | Perth Wildcats |
| Round 17 | Bryce Cotton | Perth Wildcats |
| Round 18 | Keifer Sykes | South East Melbourne Phoenix |
| Round 19 | Finn Delany | New Zealand Breakers |
| Round 20 | Tyler Harvey | Illawarra Hawks |
| Round 21 | Nathan Sobey | Brisbane Bullets |
