# 2021 NBL Finals

The 2021 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 2020–21 NBL season and the conclusion of the season.

## Format

The finals are being played in June 2021 between the top four teams of the regular season, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final and one best-of-five final series, where the higher seed hosts the first, third and fifth games.

## Qualification
### Qualified teams

| Team | Date of qualification | Round of qualification | Finals appearance | Previous appearance | Previous best performance |
| Melbourne United | 13 May 2021 | 18 | 26th | 2020 | Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2018) |
| Perth Wildcats | 15 May 2021 | 18 | 35th | 2020 | Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020) |
| Illawarra Hawks | 1 June 2021 | 21 | 21st | 2017 | Champions (2001) |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 8 June 2021 | 21 | 1st | N/A | N/A |

### 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 |

### Seedings

* Melbourne United
* Perth Wildcats
* Illawarra Hawks
* South East Melbourne Phoenix
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.

#### 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 | | | | | | | |

## Semi-finals series
### (2) Perth Wildcats vs. (3) Illawarra Hawks

Perth won 3–1 in the regular season series :
7 March 2021
boxscore
Illawarra Hawks 70, Perth Wildcats 87
John Cain Arena, Melbourne
26 March 2021
boxscore
Perth Wildcats 81, Illawarra Hawks 70
RAC Arena, Perth
16 April 2021
boxscore
Perth Wildcats 83, Illawarra Hawks 69
RAC Arena, Perth
1 June 2021
boxscore
Illawarra Hawks 81, Perth Wildcats 79
WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong :

### (1) Melbourne United vs. (4) South East Melbourne Phoenix

Melbourne won 3–2 in the regular season series :
31 January 2021
boxscore
Melbourne United 96, South East Melbourne Phoenix 90
Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo
10 March 2021
boxscore
South East Melbourne Phoenix 97, Melbourne United 92 (OT)
John Cain Arena, Melbourne
27 March 2021
boxscore
South East Melbourne Phoenix 60, Melbourne United 80
John Cain Arena, Melbourne
8 May 2021
boxscore
South East Melbourne Phoenix 82, Melbourne United 93
John Cain Arena, Melbourne
16 May 2021
boxscore
Melbourne United 83, South East Melbourne Phoenix 94
John Cain Arena, Melbourne :

## Grand Final series
### (1) Melbourne United vs. (2) Perth Wildcats

Melbourne won 3–2 in the regular season series :
7 February 2021
boxscore
Melbourne United 75, Perth Wildcats 71
Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo
20 February 2021
boxscore
Melbourne United 85, Perth Wildcats 89
John Cain Arena, Melbourne
5 May 2021
boxscore
Melbourne United 69, Perth Wildcats 82
John Cain Arena, Melbourne
13 May 2021
boxscore
Perth Wildcats 91, Melbourne United 99
RAC Arena, Perth
4 June 2021
boxscore
Perth Wildcats 64, Melbourne United 78
RAC Arena, Perth :