# 2020 New Zealand NBL season

The 2020 NBL season (officially known as the 2020 NBL Showdown) was the 39th season of the National Basketball League.
The regular season was set to commence on Thursday 9 April and end on Sunday 12 July, with the finals then taking place between 16–24 July. However, following the coronavirus outbreak in early to mid March 2020, the season was suspended indefinitely. After two months of deliberation and in the wake of easing coronavirus restrictions, the league announced a revised competition format for 2020 beginning on Tuesday 23 June and ending with the grand final on Saturday 1 August.
The 2020 season was initially set to feature eight teams following the withdrawal of the Southern Huskies and Super City Rangers and the inclusion of the Franklin Bulls for the first time. However, three of the top four teams in 2019 (Wellington Saints, Hawke's Bay Hawks and Southland Sharks) decided not to enter the modified competition. This left the door open for the inclusion of the Otago Nuggets, a team who were looking to re-enter the league in 2021 for the first time since 2014, and the Huskies. Coinciding with the announcement of a revised 2020 competition, the Huskies franchise relocated from Tasmania to Auckland and became the Auckland Huskies.
The 2020 season began on 23 June, with all seven teams playing up to three games per week over six weeks. The season concluded on 1 August with the Otago Nuggets defeating the Manawatu Jets in the grand final to win their maiden NBL championship. All teams were based in Auckland, with all games played out of The Trusts Arena.

## Team information

| Team | City origin | Arena | Head coach |
| Auckland Huskies | Auckland | The Trusts Arena, Auckland | Kevin Braswell |
| Canterbury Rams | Christchurch | The Trusts Arena, Auckland | Mick Downer |
| Franklin Bulls | Auckland | The Trusts Arena, Auckland | Liam Simmons |
| Manawatu Jets | Palmerston North | The Trusts Arena, Auckland | Tim McTamney |
| Nelson Giants | Nelson | The Trusts Arena, Auckland | Michael Fitchett |
| Otago Nuggets | Dunedin | The Trusts Arena, Auckland | Brent Matehaere |
| Taranaki Mountainairs | New Plymouth | The Trusts Arena, Auckland | Doug Courtney |

## Summary
### Regular season standings

| Pos | Team | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Otago Nuggets | 9 | 5 | 1293 | 1233 | +60 | 18 | Qualifying Final |
| 2 | Manawatu Jets | 8 | 6 | 1346 | 1305 | +41 | 16 | Qualifying Final |
| 3 | Auckland Huskies | 8 | 6 | 1207 | 1219 | −12 | 16 | Elimination Final 2 and 3 |
| 4 | Taranaki Mountainairs | 8 | 6 | 1382 | 1375 | +7 | 16 | Elimination Final 2 and 3 |
| 5 | Franklin Bulls | 7 | 7 | 1150 | 1134 | +16 | 14 | Elimination Final 2 and 3 |
| 6 | Nelson Giants | 5 | 9 | 1171 | 1252 | −81 | 10 | Elimination Final 1 |
| 7 | Canterbury Rams | 4 | 10 | 1201 | 1232 | −31 | 8 | Elimination Final 1 |
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head results: Manawatu 4–0, Auckland 2–2, Taranaki 0–4

### Finals

Tuesday 28 July
* Elimination Final 1 – 6th vs 7th
* 5:30 pm
* Box score Report
Nelson Giants 89, Canterbury Rams 93 :
| Scoring by quarter: 30–26, 17–23, 19–27, 23–17 |||
| Pts: Mike Karena 19 Rebs: Mika Vukona 16 Asts: Karena, Trathen 3 each | Pts: Quintin Bailey 19 Rebs: Bailey, Britt 8 each Asts: Taylor Britt 7 |
| Canterbury advances to Elimination Final 2 |||
* The Trusts Arena, Auckland
* Qualifying Final – 1st vs 2nd
* 7:30 pm
* Box score Report
Otago Nuggets 105, Manawatu Jets 80 :
| Scoring by quarter: 30–19, 23–16, 27–17, 25–28 |||
| Pts: Jordan Hunt 23 Rebs: Kane Keil 12 Asts: Jordan Ngatai 6 | Pts: Taane Samuel 17 Rebs: 3 players 6 each Asts: Hyrum Harris 4 |
* The Trusts Arena, Auckland
Wednesday 29 July
* Elimination Final 2 – 3rd vs Winner EF1
* 5:30 pm
* Box score Report
Auckland Huskies 84, Canterbury Rams 98 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–23, 16–13, 20–39, 22–23 |||
| Pts: Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa 39 Rebs: Bailey-Nowell, Henry 8 each Asts: Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa 5 | Pts: Thomas Webley 21 Rebs: Toby Gillooly 12 Asts: Taylor Britt 10 |
| Canterbury advances to Semi Final 1 |||
* The Trusts Arena, Auckland
* Elimination Final 3 – 4th vs 5th
* 7:30 pm
* Box score Report
Taranaki Mountainairs 99, Franklin Bulls 90 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 22–27, 24–19, 27–26 |||
| Pts: Marcel Jones 31 Rebs: Marcel Jones 10 Asts: Raukawa, Jones 7 each | Pts: Dominique Kelman-Poto 31 Rebs: Dominique Kelman-Poto 10 Asts: Everard Bartlett 5 |
| Taranaki advances to Semi Final 2 |||
* The Trusts Arena, Auckland
Thursday 30 July
* Semi Final 1 – Winner QF vs Lowest EF Winner
* 5:30 pm
* Box score Report
Otago Nuggets 97, Canterbury Rams 79 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 25–17, 27–18, 16–22 |||
| Pts: Jordan Hunt 33 Rebs: Jordan Hunt 11 Asts: Kenny, Ngatai 7 each | Pts: Samuel Smith 13 Rebs: Talma, Webley 7 each Asts: Taylor Britt 5 |
| Otago advances to Grand Final |||
* The Trusts Arena, Auckland
* Semi Final 2 – Loser QF vs Highest EF Winner
* 7:30 pm
* Box score Report
Manawatu Jets 105, Taranaki Mountainairs 95 :
| Scoring by quarter: 34–23, 21–27, 12–20, 38–25 |||
| Pts: Tom Vodanovich 28 Rebs: Hyrum Harris 11 Asts: Hyrum Harris 7 | Pts: Derone Raukawa 32 Rebs: Marcel Jones 12 Asts: Marcel Jones 6 |
| Manawatu advances to Grand Final |||
* The Trusts Arena, Auckland
Saturday 1 August
* Grand Final – Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2
* 7:30 pm
* Preview Box score Report
Otago Nuggets 79, Manawatu Jets 77 :
| Scoring by quarter: 15–17, 22–24, 15–14, 27–22 |||
| Pts: Jordan Hunt 21 Rebs: 3 players 7 each Asts: Jarrod Kenny 8 | Pts: Tom Vodanovich 24 Rebs: Hyrum Harris 12 Asts: Harris, Samuel 4 each |
| Otago wins NBL championship |||
* The Trusts Arena, Auckland

## Awards
### Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points per game | Derone Raukawa | Taranaki Mountainairs | 22.8 |
| Rebounds per game | Marcel Jones | Taranaki Mountainairs | 13.4 |
| Assists per game | Derone Raukawa | Taranaki Mountainairs | 7.6 |
| Steals per game | Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa | Auckland Huskies | 2.7 |
| Blocks per game | Sam Timmins | Franklin Bulls | 1.9 |

### Regular season

* Most Valuable Player: Tom Vodanovich (Manawatu Jets)
* Defensive Player of the Year: Jarrod Kenny (Otago Nuggets) and Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa (Auckland Huskies)
* Youth Player of the Year: Taane Samuel (Manawatu Jets)
* Coach of the Year: Brent Matehaere (Otago Nuggets)
* All-Star Five:
** G: Derone Raukawa (Taranaki Mountainairs)
** G: Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa (Auckland Huskies)
** F: Jordan Ngatai (Otago Nuggets)
** F: Marcel Jones (Taranaki Mountainairs)
** C: Tom Vodanovich (Manawatu Jets)

### Finals

* Grand Final MVP: Jordan Hunt (Otago Nuggets)