2020–21 NBL season

2020–21 NBL season
2020–21 NBL season
	Logo of the league sponsored by Hungry Jack's
League	National Basketball League
Season	2020–21
Teams	9
Games played	162 (regular season); 6 (semi-finals); 3 (Grand Final)
Dates	15 January – 25 June 2021
TV	Australia: SBS Viceland; ESPN; New Zealand: Sky Sport; Online: SBS On Demand; NBL TV; Twitch;
Finals
Minor premiers	Melbourne United
Champions	Melbourne United (6th title)
Runners-up	Perth Wildcats
Semifinalists	Illawarra Hawks; South East Melbourne Phoenix
NBL Cup	Perth Wildcats (1st title)
Awards
MVP	Bryce Cotton (Wildcats)
Finals MVP	Jock Landale (United)
Fans MVP	Bryce Cotton (Wildcats)
Rookie of the Year	Josh Giddey (36ers)
Best Defensive Player	Justin Simon (Hawks)
Most Improved Player	Sam Froling (Hawks)
Best Sixth Man	Jo Lual-Acuil (United)
Coach of the Year	Trevor Gleeson (Wildcats)
Statistical leaders
Efficiency
Efficiency	David Andersen (United)
Points	Bryce Cotton (Wildcats)
Rebounds	John Mooney (Wildcats)
Assists	Josh Giddey (36ers)
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)
Total attendance	572,950
Average attendance	3,951
NBL seasons
	← 2019–20 2021–22 →
	All statistics correct as of 25 June 2021.

The 2020–21 NBL season was the 43rd season of the National 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 by SBS Viceland in the second year of a two-year deal. All games were available live and free on streaming platforms such as SBS 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 on Twitch in the second year of a two-year deal.^[3]

Teams[]

Nine teams competed in the 2020–21 season, with the Tasmania JackJumpers set to enter the league for the 2021–22 season.^[4]

During the off-season the Illawarra 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]

Stadiums and locations[]

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Adelaide 36ers	Adelaide	Adelaide Entertainment Centre	11,300
Brisbane Bullets	Brisbane	Nissan Arena	5,000
Cairns Taipans	Cairns	Cairns Pop-Up Arena	2,000
Illawarra Hawks	Wollongong	WIN Entertainment Centre	6,000
Melbourne United	Melbourne	John Cain Arena	10,500
Melbourne United	Melbourne	Bendigo Stadium	4,000
New Zealand Breakers	Auckland	Spark Arena	9,300
		The Trusts Arena	4,900
		TSB Stadium	4,500
		Christchurch Arena	7,200
		Energy Events Centre	3,500
		Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre	1,100
		Silverdome	5,000
		Bendigo Stadium	4,000
Perth Wildcats	Perth	RAC Arena	14,800
South East Melbourne Phoenix	Melbourne	John Cain Arena	10,500
South East Melbourne Phoenix	Melbourne	State Basketball Centre	3,200
Sydney Kings	Sydney	Qudos Bank Arena	18,200

Personnel and sponsorship[]

Team	Coach	Captain	Main sponsor	Kit manufacturer
Adelaide 36ers	Conner Henry	Daniel Dillon Daniel Johnson Brendan Teys	Scouts Australia	Champion
Brisbane Bullets	Andrej Lemanis	Jason Cadee	St. Genevieve
Cairns Taipans	Mike Kelly	Scott Machado	CQUniversity
Illawarra Hawks	Brian Goorjian	Andrew Ogilvy	Pepper Money
Melbourne United	Dean Vickerman	Chris Goulding Mitch McCarron	SodaStream
New Zealand Breakers	Dan Shamir	Thomas Abercrombie	Sky Sport
Perth Wildcats	Trevor Gleeson	Jesse Wagstaff	Pentanet
South East Melbourne Phoenix		Kyle Adnam Adam Gibson	Mountain Goat Beer
Sydney Kings	Adam Forde	Daniel Kickert Casper Ware	Brydens Lawyers

Player transactions[]

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 the COVID-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]

Coaching transactions[]

Team	Role	2019–20 season	2020–21 season
Adelaide 36ers	Head Coach	Joey Wright	Conner Henry
	Assistant	Kevin Brooks
			N/A
			N/A
Brisbane Bullets	Assistant	Sam Mackinnon	Greg Vanderjagt
Brisbane Bullets	Assistant		N/A
Illawarra Hawks	Head Coach		Brian Goorjian
	Assistant

		Tyson Demos	N/A
Melbourne United	Assistant	Ross McMains	Darryl McDonald
New Zealand Breakers	Assistant
New Zealand Breakers	Assistant	N/A
SEM Phoenix	Assistant		N/A
Sydney Kings	Head Coach	Will Weaver	Adam Forde
	Assistant	Adam Forde	Kevin Lisch
		N/A
		N/A

Pre-season[]

The pre-season games began on 13 November 2020, and ran until 10 January 2021.^[10]

Ladder[]

2020–21 NBL pre-season ladder

Ladder

Information

Pos.	Name	Pld.	W.	L.	Last 5	Streak	Home	Away	For	Against	Pts %	Win %
1	Melbourne	1	1	0	1–0	W1	0–0	1–0	97	81	119.75%	100.00%
2	Sydney	1	1	0	1–0	W1	1–0	0–0	98	89	110.11%	100.00%
3	Adelaide	3	2	1	2–1	L1	2–0	0–1	276	225	122.67%	66.67%
4	Perth (RC)	2	1	1	1–1	L1	1–1	0–0	165	165	100.00%	50.00%
5	Cairns	2	1	1	1–1	W1	1–1	0–0	177	185	95.68%	50.00%
6	Brisbane	4	2	2	2–2	W2	2–0	0–2	347	378	91.80%	50.00%
7	Illawarra	3	1	2	1–2	L1	0–0	1–2	254	263	96.58%	33.33%
8	S.E. Melbourne	2	0	2	0–2	L2	0–0	0–2	198	210	94.29%	0.00%

Total Rounds
5 weeks

Total Games
11 games

Legend

(RC) Reigning Champion

Updated: 9 January 2021

Regular season[]

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.

Ladder[]

2020–21 NBL ladder

Ladder

Information

Pos.	Name	Pld.	W.	L.	Last 5	Streak	Home	Away	For	Against	Pts %	Win %
1	Melbourne	36	28	8	4–1	W3	14–4	14–4	3189	2956	107.88%	77.78%
2	Perth (RC)	36	25	11	3–2	L2	13–5	12–6	3133	2900	108.03%	69.44%
3	Illawarra	36	20	16	4–1	L1	11–7	9–9	2962	2954	100.27%	55.56%
4	S.E. Melbourne	36	19	17	2–3	L1	9–9	10–8	3217	3124	102.98%	52.78%
5	Sydney	36	19	17	4–1	W3	11–7	8–10	3112	3087	100.81%	52.78%
6	Brisbane	36	18	18	4–1	W1	9–9	9–9	3204	3274	97.86%	50.00%
7	Adelaide	36	13	23	0–5	L7	10–8	3–15	2985	3156	94.58%	36.11%
8	New Zealand	36	12	24	2–3	L1	8–10	4–14	2937	3021	97.22%	33.33%
9	Cairns	36	8	28	1–4	L2	6–12	2–16	2940	3207	91.67%	22.22%

Total Rounds
21
Games per Team
36
Total Games
162

Legend

(RC) Reigning Champion

Ladder
Updated: 9 June 2021

Ladder progression[]

Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	NBL Cup				10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
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
South East 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

NBL Cup[]

The 2020–21 season sees the introduction of the NBL Cup, which was a tournament based in Melbourne ran from 20 February to 14 March 2021.^[12]

Ladder[]

2021 NBL Cup ladder

Ladder

Information

Pos.	Name	Pld.	W.	L.	QW	Last 5	Streak	For	Against	Pts %	Win %	Pts.
1	Perth	8	7	1	18.5	4–1	W3	745	680	109.56%	87.50%	39.5
2	S.E. Melbourne	8	5	3	18.5	3–2	W3	748	704	106.25%	62.50%	33.5
3	Brisbane	8	5	3	17.5	3–2	L1	795	785	101.27%	62.50%	32.5
4	Melbourne	8	4	4	17	2–3	L3	674	677	99.56%	50.00%	29
5	Sydney	8	4	4	16.5	2–3	W1	747	729	102.47%	50.00%	28.5
6	Illawarra	8	4	4	16.5	3–2	W2	698	693	100.72%	50.00%	28.5
7	New Zealand	8	3	5	13	2–3	L2	703	710	99.01%	37.50%	22
8	Adelaide	8	2	6	14	1–4	L2	673	751	89.61%	25.00%	20
9	Cairns	8	2	6	12.5	1–4	L3	677	731	92.61%	25.00%	18.5

Total Rounds
4
Games per Team
8
Total Games
36

Ladder
Updated: 14 March 2021

Perth Wildcats won the inaugural NBL Cup trophy with a 7–1 record in eight games played.^[13]

Finals Series[]

The 2021 Finals was be played in June 2021, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final series and a best-of-five Grand 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.

Playoff Bracket[]

Semi-finals					Grand final

1	Melbourne United	96	79	84

4	South East 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

Awards[]

Regular season[]

Player of the Week[]

Rounds	Player	Team
Round 1	Justin Simon	The Hawks
Round 2	Isaac Humphries	Adelaide 36ers
Round 3	Vic Law	Brisbane Bullets
Round 3	Nathan Sobey	Brisbane Bullets
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		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

Awards Night[]

Most Valuable Player (Andrew Gaze Trophy): Bryce Cotton^[14] (Perth Wildcats)
Rookie of the Year: Josh Giddey (Adelaide 36ers)
Best Defensive Player (Damian Martin Trophy): Justin Simon (Illawarra Hawks)
Best Sixth Man: Jo Lual-Acuil (Melbourne United)
Most Improved Player: Sam Froling (Illawarra Hawks)
Fans MVP: Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
Coach of the Year (Lindsay Gaze Trophy): Trevor Gleeson (Perth Wildcats)
Executive of the Year: Mark Boyd (Melbourne United)
Referee of the Year: Chris Reid
Most Outstanding Media Coverage: Olgun Uluc (ESPN)
GameTime by Kmart: Kyle Adnam (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
All-NBL First Team:
All-NBL Second Team:

Post Season[]

Grand Final Series MVP (Larry Sengstock Medal): Jock Landale (Melbourne United)

References[]

^ Mark, David (31 July 2019). "National Basketball League now on SBS and ESPN after Nine opts out of its broadcast deal". ABC. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ "NBL and Breakers Team Up with SKY Sport". National Basketball League. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
^ Ward, Roy (11 October 2019). "NBL strikes 'revolutionary' live stream deal with Twitch". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
^ "Tasmania will get its first NBL team since 1996". ABC News. 28 February 2020.
^ Fernandez, Timothy (17 June 2020). "Illawarra Hawks are no more as NBL locks in new owners". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
^ "NBL Reinstates Illawarra Hawks Name". www.nbl.com.au. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
^ "2020/21 Hungry Jack's NBL Season to Tip Off in December | NBL". nbl.com.au.
^ "NBL Free Agency | NBL". nbl.com.au.
^ "NBL, ABPA and Clubs Reach Agreement for 2020/21 Season | NBL". nbl.com.au.
^ "Hungry Jack's NBL Preseason Games". NBL.com.au. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
^ "Hungry Jack's NBL to Tip Off in Early 2021". NBL.com.au. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
^ Hope, Shayne (21 December 2020). "NBL Cup a slam dunk for Melbourne hub". 7NEWS.com.au. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
^ "Wildcats complete NBL Cup with dazzling comeback". nbl.com.au. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
^ "Bryce Cotton Claims Third Andrew Gaze MVP Trophy". NBL.com.au. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.

External links[]

Official website

[1] Mark, David (31 July 2019). "National Basketball League now on SBS and ESPN after Nine opts out of its broadcast deal". ABC. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

[2] "NBL and Breakers Team Up with SKY Sport". National Basketball League. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.

[3] Ward, Roy (11 October 2019). "NBL strikes 'revolutionary' live stream deal with Twitch". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2019.

[4] "Tasmania will get its first NBL team since 1996". ABC News. 28 February 2020.

[5] Fernandez, Timothy (17 June 2020). "Illawarra Hawks are no more as NBL locks in new owners". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 18 July 2020.

[6] "NBL Reinstates Illawarra Hawks Name". www.nbl.com.au. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.

[3_dec_tipoff-7] "2020/21 Hungry Jack's NBL Season to Tip Off in December | NBL". nbl.com.au.

[8] "NBL Free Agency | NBL". nbl.com.au.

[9] "NBL, ABPA and Clubs Reach Agreement for 2020/21 Season | NBL". nbl.com.au.

[10] "Hungry Jack's NBL Preseason Games". NBL.com.au. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.

[11] "Hungry Jack's NBL to Tip Off in Early 2021". NBL.com.au. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.

[12] Hope, Shayne (21 December 2020). "NBL Cup a slam dunk for Melbourne hub". 7NEWS.com.au. Retrieved 21 December 2020.

[13] "Wildcats complete NBL Cup with dazzling comeback". nbl.com.au. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.

[14] "Bryce Cotton Claims Third Andrew Gaze MVP Trophy". NBL.com.au. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

v t 2020–21 National Basketball League season
2020–21 NBL pre-season 2020–21 NBL regular season 2021 NBL Cup 2021 NBL Finals 2020–21 NBL season transactions
Adelaide 36ers Brisbane Bullets Cairns Taipans Illawarra Hawks Melbourne United New Zealand Breakers Perth Wildcats South East Melbourne Phoenix Sydney Kings