# 2020–21 Adelaide 36ers season

The 2020–21 NBL season was the 40th season for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL, and their first under new Head Coach Conner Henry.

## Squad
### Signings

* The 36ers retained Jack McVeigh, Obi Kyei, Brendan Teys, Daniel Dillon and Alex Mudronja who had all signed multiple season contracts that covered the 2020–21 season.
* On 26 February 2020, former head coach Joey Wright and the club parted ways despite still have time left on his contract. Following his departure there were accusations of abuse and bullying by Wright across their final season together.
* On 12 March 2020, the 36ers announced that they had signed Josh Giddey on a Next Stars program contract.
* On 15 April 2020, club co-captain Kevin White was released from his remaining contract.
* On 6 May 2020, Daniel Johnson signed a new three-year deal with the club.
* On 16 July 2020, the 36ers signed 2018 NBL Rookie of the Year Isaac Humphries on a two-year deal.
* On 17 July 2020, the 36ers announced that Keanu Pinder had signed a one-year deal.
* On 22 July 2020, former Hawk Sunday Dech joined the 36ers on a three-year deal.
* On 18 August 2020, Jamie Pearlman was announced as the lead assistant coach.
* On 20 August 2020, Donald Sloan signed a one-year contract with the 36ers, filling their first import slot.
* On 29 September 2020, Obi Kyei's request to be released from his contract was granted by the 36ers, releasing him from the final year of his contract.
* On 1 December 2020, Tony Crocker signed a one-year deal to complete the 36ers roster.
* On 7 January 2021, the 36ers signed Owen Hulland as a development player for the 2020–21 season.
* On 7 February 2021, the 36ers granted Donald Sloan a release from the remainder of his contract.
* On 10 February 2021, Jeremy Kendle was announced as the temporary replacement of former import Sloan.
* On 18 February 2021, Brandon Paul was announced as the long-term replacement to Sloan.
* On 2 March 2021, the 36ers announced that Humphries was injured and would be sidelined for four to six weeks. Jack Purchase was announced as his injury replacement player.
* On 12 March 2021, Kendle was released from his short term contract.
* On 17 March 2021, Josh Giddey was released from the active playing roster to prepare for the 2021 NBA draft. He averaged 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and a league-leading 7.6 assists per game in 28 games played.

### Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

## Pre-season

To start their first season under their new head coach, the 36ers hosted 2 practice matches against the Brisbane Bullets.

### Game log

2020 pre-season game log Total: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1) :
November: 2–0 (home: 2–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
13 November
Brisbane
W 93–75
Daniel Johnson (20)
Josh Giddey (8)
Josh Giddey (6)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 4,516
1–0
2
15 November
Brisbane
W 87–62
Daniel Johnson (19)
Isaac Humphries (12)
Josh Giddey (7)
Titanium Security Arena 200
2–0 :
January
: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
9 January
@ Cairns
L 96–88
Donald Sloan (24)
Daniel Johnson (10)
Daniel Dillon (3)
Cairns Pop-Up Arena 1,000
2–1 :

## Regular season
### 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 |

### Game log

2020–21 game log Total: 13–23 (Home: 10–8; Road: 3–15) :
January: 4–2 (home: 4–2; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
15 January
Melbourne
L 65–89
Daniel Johnson (29)
Dech, Giddey, Johnson, Pinder (6)
Josh Giddey (5)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 6,539
0–1
2
17 January
South East Melbourne
W 116–108 (2OT)
Daniel Johnson (33)
Isaac Humphries (12)
Josh Giddey (7)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 6,518
1–1
3
20 January
South East Melbourne
L 83–89
Isaac Humphries (20)
Daniel Johnson (10)
Daniel Johnson (4)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 6,946
1–2
4
22 January
New Zealand
W 94–91 (OT)
Isaac Humphries (24)
Isaac Humphries (11)
Daniel Johnson (4)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 6,589
2–2
5
27 January
New Zealand
W 88–78
Isaac Humphries (21)
Josh Giddey (10)
Josh Giddey (8)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 5,706
3–2
6
30 January
Sydney
W 85–80
Isaac Humphries (27)
Isaac Humphries (9)
Giddey, Johnson, Sloan (4)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 7,087
4–2 :
February: 1–2 (home: 0–2; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
7
6 February
Sydney
L 75–94
Daniel Johnson (21)
Isaac Humphries (8)
Josh Giddey (4)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 7,317
4–3
8
13 February
@ Brisbane
W 70–85
Isaac Humphries (24)
Isaac Humphries (13)
Josh Giddey (7)
Nissan Arena 4,240
5–3
9
15 February
Brisbane
L 74–93
Daniel Johnson (20)
Humphries, Johnson (8)
Josh Giddey (8)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 5,183
5–4 :
NBL Cup: 2–6 (home: 2–2; road: 0–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
10
21 February
@ Sydney
L 94–77
Tony Crocker (15)
Josh Giddey (7)
Josh Giddey (7)
John Cain Arena 2,566
5–5
11
23 February
South East Melbourne
W 99–94
Daniel Johnson (27)
Isaac Humphries (11)
Josh Giddey (9)
John Cain Arena 1,079
6–5
12
25 February
Melbourne
L 73–82
Daniel Johnson (14)
Giddey, Humphries, Johnson (8)
Sunday Dech (4)
John Cain Arena 1,991
6–6
13
27 February
New Zealand
L 62–106
Jack McVeigh (20)
Daniel Johnson (8)
Daniel Johnson (4)
John Cain Arena 4,206
6–7
14
4 March
@ Illawarra
L 98–89
Tony Crocker (23)
Daniel Johnson (8)
Josh Giddey (9)
State Basketball Centre 1,355
6–8
15
6 March
Cairns
W 81–71
Daniel Johnson (30)
Daniel Johnson (9)
Josh Giddey (8)
John Cain Arena 3,708
7–8
16
11 March
@ Brisbane
L 109–104
Daniel Johnson (29)
Daniel Johnson (9)
Josh Giddey (11)
John Cain Arena 997
7–9
17
14 March
@ Perth
L 97–88
Brandon Paul (25)
Josh Giddey (8)
Josh Giddey (13)
John Cain Arena 4,019
7–10 :
March: 0–3 (home: 0–0; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
18
20 March
@ South East Melbourne
L 96–89 (OT)
Brandon Paul (29)
Josh Giddey (10)
Josh Giddey (7)
John Cain Arena 1,682
7–11
19
22 March
@ Perth
L 92–82
Daniel Johnson (19)
Daniel Johnson (8)
Brandon Paul (5)
RAC Arena 9,550
7–12
20
28 March
@ Cairns
L 79–65
Daniel Johnson (21)
Daniel Johnson (8)
Sunday Dech (5)
Cairns Pop-Up Arena 1,945
7–13 :
April: 3–3 (home: 2–0; road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
21
3 April
Illawarra
W 84–72
Daniel Johnson (26)
Daniel Johnson (15)
Josh Giddey (8)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 5,686
8–13
22
10 April
Perth
W 83–68
Daniel Johnson (28)
Sunday Dech (10)
Josh Giddey (12)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 6,339
9–13
23
14 April
@ Cairns
L 91–88
Daniel Johnson (24)
Josh Giddey (7)
Josh Giddey (9)
Cairns Pop-Up Arena 1,869
9–14
24
17 April
@ South East Melbourne
W 81–90
Daniel Johnson (22)
Daniel Johnson (8)
Josh Giddey (9)
John Cain Arena 2,512
10–14
25
24 April
@ Melbourne
L 92–78
Brandon Paul (20)
Josh Giddey (10)
Josh Giddey (7)
John Cain Arena 3,034
10–15
26
26 April
@ New Zealand
L 93–77
Daniel Johnson (20)
Josh Giddey (10)
Josh Giddey (10)
Silverdome 893
10–16 :
May: 3–5 (home: 2–2; road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
27
1 May
Brisbane
W 101–79
Daniel Johnson (26)
Josh Giddey (11)
Josh Giddey (13)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 6,683
11–16
28
4 May
Cairns
W 92–76
Brandon Paul (18)
Johnson, Paul (10)
Josh Giddey (6)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 7,001
12–16
29
9 May
@ Sydney
W 88–97 (OT)
Daniel Johnson (20)
Josh Giddey (10)
Josh Giddey (12)
Qudos Bank Arena 4,063
13–16
30
11 May
@ Illawarra
L 71–66
Tony Crocker (16)
Giddey, Pinder (9)
Josh Giddey (8)
WIN Entertainment Centre 2,036
13–17
31
16 May
@ Sydney
L 85–75
Daniel Johnson (23)
Giddey, Johnson, Pinder 7
Josh Giddey (5)
Qudos Bank Arena 5,078
13–18
32
21 May
Illawarra
L 73–81
Daniel Dillon (17)
Daniel Dillon (8)
Daniel Dillon (5)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 6,090
13–19
33
23 May
Perth
L 68–76
Daniel Johnson (13)
Brandon Paul (11)
Crocker, Dillon (5)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 6,422
13–20
34
25 May
@ New Zealand
L 94–76
Daniel Dillon (22)
Paul, Pinder (7)
Daniel Dillon (6)
Christchurch Arena 2,803
13–21
35
30 May
@ Illawarra
L 97–83
Sunday Dech (15)
Keanu Pinder (11)
Daniel Dillon (6)
WIN Entertainment Centre 3,004
13–22 :
June: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
36
6 June
@ Melbourne
L 102–80
Tony Crocker (27)
Daniel Johnson (13)
Daniel Dillon (6)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre 1,817
13–23 :

## Awards
### Player of the Week

Round 2, Isaac Humphries
Round 9, Josh Giddey