# 2021–22 NBL season

The 2021–22 NBL season was the 44th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested the 2021–22 season, which commenced on 3 December 2021.
Australian broadcast rights to the season are held by ESPN in the first season of a new three-year deal. All games are available live on ESPN and the streaming platform Kayo Sports. After signing onto the new three-year deal, Network 10 will broadcast two Sunday afternoon games on 10 Peach and 10 Play. In New Zealand, Sky Sport continue as the official league broadcaster, with Dongqiudi, TAP Sports, M Plus, Astro, Fanseat, Spring Media, Live Now and YouTube broadcasting games internationally.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

Ten teams are competing in the 2021–22 season, with the Tasmania JackJumpers entering the league for their first season.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Adelaide 36ers | Adelaide | Adelaide Entertainment Centre | 11,300 |
| Brisbane Bullets | Brisbane | Nissan Arena | 5,000 |
| Cairns Taipans | Cairns | Cairns Convention Centre | 5,300 |
| Illawarra Hawks | Wollongong | WIN Entertainment Centre | 6,000 |
| Melbourne United | Melbourne | John Cain Arena | 10,500 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | Spark Arena | 9,300 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Hobart | MyState Bank Arena | 4,865 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Bendigo | Bendigo Stadium | 4,000 |
| Perth Wildcats | Perth | RAC Arena | 14,800 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | Melbourne | John Cain Arena | 10,500 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | Melbourne | State Basketball Centre | 3,200 |
| Sydney Kings | Sydney | Qudos Bank Arena | 18,200 |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | Hobart | MyState Bank Arena | 4,865 |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | Launceston | Silverdome | 3,255 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Coach | Captain | Main sponsor | Kit manufacturer |
| Adelaide 36ers | C. J. Bruton | Mitch McCarron | Walker Corporation | Champion |
| Brisbane Bullets | James Duncan | Jason Cadee | St. Genevieve | Champion |
| Cairns Taipans | Adam Forde | Scott Machado | CQUniversity | Champion |
| Illawarra Hawks | Brian Goorjian | Andrew Ogilvy | Pepper Money | Champion |
| Melbourne United | Dean Vickerman | Chris Goulding | SodaStream | Champion |
| New Zealand Breakers | Dan Shamir | Thomas Abercrombie | Sky Sport | Champion |
| Perth Wildcats | Scott Morrison | Jesse Wagstaff | Pentanet | Champion |
| South East Melbourne Phoenix | Simon Mitchell | Kyle Adnam | Mountain Goat Beer | Champion |
| Sydney Kings | Chase Buford | Shaun Bruce Xavier Cooks | Brydens Lawyers | Champion |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | Scott Roth | Clint Steindl | Spirit of Tasmania | Champion |

### Player transactions

Free agency negotiations were delayed until 28 June 2021, due to the late finish of the 2020–21 season which had been delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

### Coaching transactions

| 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 |
| Brisbane Bullets | Assistant coach | C. J. Bruton | Peter Crawford |
| Cairns Taipans | Head coach | Mike Kelly | Adam Forde |
| Cairns Taipans | Assistant coach | Jamie O'Loughlin | Sam Gruggen |
| Cairns Taipans | Assistant coach | Brad Hill | Kerry Williams |
| New Zealand Breakers | Assistant coach | Rashid Al-Kaleem | N/A |
| Sydney Kings | Head coach | Adam Forde | Chase Buford |
| Sydney Kings | Assistant coach | James Duncan | Fleur McIntyre |
| Sydney Kings | Assistant coach | Sam Gruggen | N/A |
| Perth Wildcats | Head coach | Trevor Gleeson | Scott Morrison |
| Perth Wildcats | Assistant coach | Bob Thornton | Keegan Crawford |
| Perth Wildcats | Assistant coach | Jacob Chance | N/A |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | Head coach | N/A | Scott Roth |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | Assistant coach | N/A | Jacob Chance |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | Assistant coach | N/A | Mark Radford |
| Tasmania JackJumpers | Assistant coach | N/A | Jack Fleming |

## Pre-season

The pre-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 throughout Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.

### Ladder
#### NBL Blitz ladder
## Regular season

The regular season began on 3 December 2021. It consisted of 140 games spread across 21 rounds, with the final game being played on 24 April 2022.
On 24 April 2022, Melbourne United claimed their 6th regular season championship.

### Ladder

| Pos | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte | 2021–22 NBL season vte |
| Pos | 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.

### 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.
2021–22 NBL season vte :
| 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 |

## Finals

The 2022 NBL Finals were played in April and May 2022, 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

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 1 | Melbourne United | 74 | 72 | 73 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Tasmania JackJumpers | 63 | 79 | 76 | | | | | | | |
| 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 | 4 | Tasmania JackJumpers | 78 | 86 | 88 | X | X |
| 3 | Sydney Kings | 89 | 99 | X | | | | | | | |

## Awards
### Pre-season

* Loggins-Bruton Cup: Adelaide 36ers
* Most Valuable Player (Ray Borner Medal): Mitch McCarron (Adelaide 36ers)

### Regular season
#### Awards Night

* Most Valuable Player (Andrew Gaze Trophy): Jaylen Adams (Sydney Kings)
* Rookie of the Year: Bul Kuol (Cairns Taipans)
* Best Defensive Player (Damian Martin Trophy): Antonius Cleveland (Illawarra Hawks)
* Best Sixth Man: Shea Ili (Melbourne United)
* Most Improved Player: Keanu Pinder (Cairns Taipans)
* Fans MVP: Kai Sotto (Adelaide 36ers)
* Coach of the Year (Lindsay Gaze Trophy): Scott Roth (Tasmania JackJumpers)
* Executive of the Year: Simon Edwards (New Zealand Breakers)
* Referee of the Year: Vaughan Mayberry
* GameTime by Kmart: Jack McVeigh (Tasmania JackJumpers)
* All-NBL First Team:
** Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
** Jaylen Adams (Sydney Kings)
** Antonius Cleveland (Illawarra Hawks)
** Vic Law (Perth Wildcats)
** Jo Lual-Acuil (Melbourne United)
* All-NBL Second Team:
** Matthew Dellavedova (Melbourne United)
** Josh Adams (Tasmania JackJumpers)
** Chris Goulding (Melbourne United)
** Mitch Creek (S.E. Melbourne Phoenix)
** Xavier Cooks (Sydney Kings)

### Post Season

* Grand Final Series MVP (Larry Sengstock Medal): Xavier Cooks (Sydney Kings)
* NBL Champions: Sydney Kings