# 2020–21 NBL season

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. In New Zealand, Sky Sport were the official league broadcaster. The NBL continued broadcasting games online on Twitch in the second year of a two-year deal.

## Teams

Nine teams competed in the 2020–21 season, with the Tasmania JackJumpers set to enter the league for the 2021–22 season.
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.
On 9 February 2021, the NBL reinstated the Illawarra Hawks name following an increase in support from the local community.

### Stadiums and locations

* Breakers
* Bullets
* Hawks
* Kings
* Taipans
* United
* Wildcats
* 36ers
* Phoenix
| 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 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | The Trusts Arena | 4,900 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | TSB Stadium | 4,500 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | Christchurch Arena | 7,200 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | Energy Events Centre | 3,500 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre | 1,100 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | Silverdome | 3,255 |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | 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 | Champion |
| Cairns Taipans | Mike Kelly | Scott Machado | CQUniversity | Champion |
| Illawarra Hawks | Brian Goorjian | Andrew Ogilvy | Pepper Money | Champion |
| Melbourne United | Dean Vickerman | Chris Goulding Mitch McCarron | SodaStream | Champion |
| New Zealand Breakers | Dan Shamir | Thomas Abercrombie | Sky Sport | Champion |
| Perth Wildcats | Trevor Gleeson | Jesse Wagstaff | Pentanet | Champion |
| South East Melbourne Phoenix | Simon Mitchell | Kyle Adnam Adam Gibson | Mountain Goat Beer | Champion |
| Sydney Kings | Adam Forde | Daniel Kickert Casper Ware | Brydens Lawyers | Champion |

### 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. 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.

### Coaching transactions

| Team | Role | 2019–20 season | 2020–21 season |
| Adelaide 36ers | Head coach | Joey Wright | Conner Henry |
| Adelaide 36ers | Assistant | Kevin Brooks | Jamie Pearlman |
| Adelaide 36ers | Assistant | Darren Golley | N/A |
| Adelaide 36ers | Assistant | Andrew Jantke | N/A |
| Brisbane Bullets | Assistant | Sam Mackinnon | Greg Vanderjagt |
| Brisbane Bullets | Assistant | Mick Downer | N/A |
| Illawarra Hawks | Head coach | Matt Flinn | Brian Goorjian |
| Illawarra Hawks | Assistant | Ben Bagoly | Jacob Jackomas |
| Illawarra Hawks | Assistant | Eric Cooks | Shaun Roger |
| Illawarra Hawks | Assistant | Tyson Demos | N/A |
| Melbourne United | Assistant | Ross McMains | Darryl McDonald |
| New Zealand Breakers | Assistant | Zico Coronel | Chanel Pompallier |
| New Zealand Breakers | Assistant | N/A | Jacob Mooallem |
| SEM Phoenix | Assistant | Ian Stacker | N/A |
| Sydney Kings | Head coach | Will Weaver | Adam Forde |
| Sydney Kings | Assistant | Adam Forde | Kevin Lisch |
| Sydney Kings | Assistant | N/A | Sam Gruggen |
| Sydney Kings | Assistant | N/A | Lachlan Lonergan |

## Pre-season

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

### Ladder
## 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. It consisted of 162 games spread across 21 rounds, with the final game being played on 8 June 2021.

### Ladder

| Pos | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte | 2020–21 NBL season vte |
| Pos | 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

### 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.
2020–21 NBL season vte :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | NBL Cup | NBL Cup | NBL Cup | 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 |
| 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 |

### 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.

#### Ladder

| Pos | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte | 2021 NBL Cup vte |
| Pos | 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.

## Finals

The 2021 NBL Finals was 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 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).

### Playoff bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 1 | Melbourne United | 96 | 79 | 84 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 78 | 90 | 74 | | | | | | | |
| 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 | 2 | Perth Wildcats | 70 | 74 | 76 | X | X |
| 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 | 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 |

#### Awards Night

* Most Valuable Player (Andrew Gaze Trophy): Bryce Cotton (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:
** Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
** Nathan Sobey (Brisbane Bullets)
** Tyler Harvey (Illawarra Hawks)
** John Mooney (Perth Wildcats)
** Jock Landale (Melbourne United)
* All-NBL Second Team:
** Chris Goulding (Melbourne United)
** Casper Ware (Sydney Kings)
** Mitch McCarron (Melbourne United)
** Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
** Finn Delany (New Zealand Breakers)

### Post season

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