| 2021–22 NBL season | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National Basketball League | ||||||||||||
| Season | 2021–22 | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 3 December 2021 – 11 May 2022 | ||||||||||||
| Games played | 140 | ||||||||||||
| Teams | 10 | ||||||||||||
| TV partners | Australia:New Zealand:Online: | ||||||||||||
| Regular season | |||||||||||||
| Season champions | Melbourne United | ||||||||||||
| SeasonMVP |  Jaylen Adams(Sydney) | ||||||||||||
| Finals | |||||||||||||
| Champions | Sydney Kings(4th title) | ||||||||||||
| Runners-up | Tasmania JackJumpers | ||||||||||||
| Semifinalists | Melbourne United Illawarra Hawks | ||||||||||||
| FinalsMVP | Xavier Cooks(Sydney) | ||||||||||||
| Statistical leaders | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Records | |||||||||||||
| Biggest home win | 42 points United 89–47 Kings (16 December 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Biggest away win | 33 points Breakers 60–93 Sixers (24 April 2022) | ||||||||||||
| Highest scoring | 210 points Taipans 112–98 Bullets (23 April 2022) | ||||||||||||
| Lowest scoring | 128 points JackJumpers 66–62 Breakers (5 March 2022) | ||||||||||||
| Winning streak | 13 games Sydney Kings (6 February 2022 – 17 April) | ||||||||||||
| Losing streak | 10 games New Zealand Breakers (14 March 2022 – 24 April) | ||||||||||||
| Highest attendance | 16,149 –Qudos Bank Arena Kings vs JackJumpers (11 May 2022) | ||||||||||||
| Lowest attendance | 1,477 –MyState Bank Arena Breakers vs JackJumpers (30 January 2022) | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 684,715 | ||||||||||||
| Average attendance | 4,998 | ||||||||||||
| NBL seasons | |||||||||||||
| All statistics correct as of 11 May 2022. | |||||||||||||
The2021–22 NBL season was the 44th season of theNational Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested the 2021–22 season, which commenced on 3 December 2021.[1][2]
Australian broadcast rights to the season are held byESPN in the first season of a new three-year deal. All games are available live onESPN and the streaming platformKayo Sports.[3] After signing onto the new three-year deal,Network 10 will broadcast two Sunday afternoon games on10 Peach and10 Play.[4] In New Zealand,Sky Sport continue as the official league broadcaster, with Dongqiudi,TAP Sports, M Plus,Astro,Fanseat, Spring Media, Live Now andYouTube broadcasting games internationally.[5]
Ten teams are competing in the 2021–22 season, with theTasmania JackJumpers entering the league for their first season.[6]
Free agency negotiations were delayed until 28 June 2021, due to the late finish of the 2020–21 season which had been delayed due toCOVID-19 pandemic.[7][8][9]
| Team | Role | 2020–21 season | 2021–22 season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide 36ers | Head coach | Conner Henry | C. J. Bruton |
| Brisbane Bullets | Head coach | Andrej Lemanis | James Duncan |
| Assistant coach | C. J. Bruton | Peter Crawford | |
| Cairns Taipans | Head coach | Mike Kelly | Adam Forde |
| Assistant coach | Jamie O'Loughlin | Sam Gruggen | |
| Brad Hill | Kerry Williams | ||
| New Zealand Breakers | Assistant coach | Rashid Al-Kaleem | N/A |
| Sydney Kings | Head coach | Adam Forde | Chase Buford |
| Assistant coach | James Duncan | Fleur McIntyre | |
| Sam Gruggen | N/A | ||
| Perth Wildcats | Head coach | Trevor Gleeson | Scott Morrison |
| Assistant coach | Bob Thornton | Keegan Crawford | |
| Jacob Chance | N/A | ||
| Tasmania JackJumpers | Head coach | N/A | Scott Roth |
| Assistant coach | N/A | Jacob Chance | |
| Mark Radford | |||
| Jack Fleming |
Thepre-season consisted of warm-up games leading up to the start of the regular season, with the NBL Blitz tournament running during this period. The NBL Blitz ran from 13 to 28 November with all ten teams competing, and was hosted throughoutTasmania,Victoria andNew South Wales.[10][11]
| 2021–22 NBL pre-season ladder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Total Rounds Total Games Legend
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| 2021 NBL Blitz ladder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Total Rounds Total Games Legend
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The regular season began on 3 December 2021.[14][15][16] It consisted of 140 games spread across 21 rounds, with the final game being played on 24 April 2022.[17]
On 24 April 2022,Melbourne United claimed their 6th regular season championship.[18][19]
| Pos | 2021–22 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | |
| 1 | Melbourne United | 28 | 20 | 8 | 71.43% | 4–1 | L1 | 9–5 | 11–3 | 2455 | 2244 | 109.40% |
| 2 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 19 | 9 | 67.86% | 4–1 | W2 | 8–6 | 11–3 | 2498 | 2345 | 106.52% |
| 3 | Sydney Kings | 28 | 19 | 9 | 67.86% | 3–2 | L1 | 9–5 | 10–4 | 2397 | 2313 | 103.63% |
| 4 | Tasmania JackJumpers | 28 | 17 | 11 | 60.71% | 4–1 | W4 | 8–6 | 9–5 | 2230 | 2220 | 100.45% |
| 5 | Perth Wildcats | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 2–3 | L2 | 7–7 | 9–5 | 2495 | 2377 | 104.96% |
| 6 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 3–2 | W2 | 7–7 | 8–6 | 2456 | 2424 | 101.32% |
| 7 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 10 | 18 | 35.71% | 3–2 | W1 | 6–8 | 4–10 | 2283 | 2346 | 97.31% |
| 8 | Brisbane Bullets | 28 | 10 | 18 | 35.71% | 2–3 | L2 | 6–8 | 4–10 | 2379 | 2500 | 95.16% |
| 9 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 9 | 19 | 32.14% | 1–4 | W1 | 5–9 | 4–10 | 2228 | 2408 | 92.52% |
| 10 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 5 | 23 | 17.86% | 0–5 | L10 | 2–12 | 3–11 | 2234 | 2478 | 90.15% |
Updated to match(es) played on 24 April 2022. Source:NBL.com.au
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win–loss record, the overall points percentage will determine order of seeding.
| 2021–22 NBL season | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| Adelaide 36ers | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Cairns Taipans | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Melbourne United | 6 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New Zealand Breakers | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Perth Wildcats | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Sydney Kings | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | 4 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
The2022 NBL Finals were played in April and May 2022, 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 hosts the first, third and fifth games.[20][21]
| Semifinals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne United | 74 | 72 | 73 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Tasmania JackJumpers | 63 | 79 | 76 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Sydney Kings | 95 | 90 | 97 | X | X | |||||||||
| 4 | Tasmania JackJumpers | 78 | 86 | 88 | X | X | |||||||||
| 2 | Illawarra Hawks | 79 | 87 | X | |||||||||||
| 3 | Sydney Kings | 89 | 99 | X | |||||||||||
