# 2023 VBA season

The 2023 VBA season (Vietnamese: VBA mùa giải 2023) was the seventh season of the Vietnam Basketball Association. The regular season began on 10 June and ended on 3 September. The playoffs began on 7 September, and ended on 28 September, with the Saigon Heat clinching their 4th straight title after defeating the Nha Trang Dolphins in 4 games in the Finals.
The regular season started with all seven teams playing a round-robin tournament at a centralized venue in Hanoi. The remainder of the regular season was played in the traditional home and away format.

## Teams

All seven teams from the 2022 season continued on in 2023. The season started with the first quarter of the schedule played at a central hub in Hanoi. The remainder of the schedule was played in the traditional home-and-away format.

### Venues and locations

| Team | Home city | Arena |
| Cantho Catfish | Can Tho | Da Nang Can Tho Arena |
| Danang Dragons | Da Nang | Son Tra Arena |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Hanoi | Hoang Mai Arena |
| Hochiminh City Wings | Ho Chi Minh City | Ho Xuan Huong Arena |
| Nha Trang Dolphins | Nha Trang | Nha Trang University Arena |
| Saigon Heat | Ho Chi Minh City | CIS Arena |
| Thang Long Warriors | Hanoi | Tay Ho Arena |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head Coach | Kit maker |
| Cantho Catfish | Jordan Collins | Anta |
| Danang Dragons | Todd Purves | Anta |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Erik Rashad | Anta |
| Hochiminh City Wings | Erik Olson | Anta |
| Nha Trang Dolphins | Predrag Lukic | Anta |
| Saigon Heat | Matt Van Pelt | Anta |
| Thang Long Warriors | Chris Daleo | Anta |

### Coaching Transactions

Coaching changes :
| Team | 2022 season | 2023 season |
| Off-season |||
| Cantho Catfish | Leonardo Pérez | Jordan Collins |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Eric Weissling | Erik Rashad |
| Thang Long Warriors | Predrag Lukic | Chris Daleo |
| Nha Trang Dolphins | Todd Purves | Predrag Lukic |
| Danang Dragons | Phan Thanh Canh | Alberto Antuña Leal |
| Danang Dragons | Alberto Antuña Leal | Todd Purves |

## Foreign players

Teams are allowed to register two foreign players and one heritage player. Heritage players are designated players who have Vietnamese heritage or have been naturalized. They do not count against the teams allotted foreign player slots.
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Heritage Player | Replaced |
| Cantho Catfish | Brachon Griffin | Joshua Keyes | Michael Soy | Ja Morgan DeAngelo Hamilton |
| Danang Dragons | Jermaine Marrow | Jairus Holder | William Tran | Yevgen Sakhniuk |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Udun Osakue | Lenny Daniel | Tam Dinh | Russell Smith Anthony January |
| Hochiminh City Wings | Jeremy Smith | Yevgen Sakhniuk | Vincent Nguyen | Amir Williams |
| Nha Trang Dolphins | Madarious Gibbs | Robert Sampson | Dominique Tham | |
| Saigon Heat | Kentrell Barkley | | Hassan Thomas | |
| Thang Long Warriors | John Fields | Sameen Swint | Justin Young | |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Saigon Heat | 18 | 14 | 4 | 1578 | 1462 | +116 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 2 | Hanoi Buffaloes | 18 | 13 | 5 | 1545 | 1448 | +97 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 3 | Nha Trang Dolphins | 18 | 12 | 6 | 1571 | 1473 | +98 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 4 | Thang Long Warriors | 18 | 11 | 7 | 1567 | 1534 | +33 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 5 | Cantho Catfish | 18 | 6 | 12 | 1484 | 1548 | −64 | |
| 6 | Ho Chi Minh City Wings | 18 | 6 | 12 | 1483 | 1555 | −72 | |
| 7 | Danang Dragons | 18 | 1 | 17 | 1489 | 1697 | −208 | |

### Results

Home \ Away
CTC
DND
HNB
HCM
NTD
SGH
TLW
CTC
DND
HNB
HCM
NTD
SGH
TLW
Cantho Catfish
89–87
70–59
81–86
87–96
83–89
98–103
97–88
78–80
72–79
Danang Dragons
80–99
74–92
78–91
76–86
76–86
94–106
83–115
104–83
73–94
Hanoi Buffaloes
86–72
88–69
98–93
60–97
71–85
90–95
95–81
88–74
81–79
Hochiminh City Wings
66–78
101–70
81–89
90–87
78–80
77–80
89–95
63–94
95–89
Nha Trang Dolphins
77–70
88–77
80–72
72–77
79–85
100–73
108–105
93–83
99–95
Saigon Heat
111–70
97–91
83–92
82–67
94–90
91–88
86–82
98–91
90–70
Thang Long Warriors
83–78
91–82
91–93
87–72
77–82
82–68
94–86
78–82
86–83
Source: Results Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win. Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime. :

## Playoffs

The playoffs began on 7 September.

### Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 Saigon Heat | 2 |
| 4 Thang Long Warriors | 0 | | |
| 4 Thang Long Warriors | 0 | 1 Saigon Heat | 3 |
| | | 3 Nha Trang Dolphins | 1 |
| 2 Hanoi Buffaloes | 0 | 3 Nha Trang Dolphins | 1 |
| 3 Nha Trang Dolphins | 2 | | |

#### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| (1) Saigon Heat | 2–0 | (4) Thang Long Warriors | 89–79 | 97–76 | – |
| (2) Hanoi Buffaloes | 0–2 | (3) Nha Trang Dolphins | 61–85 | 67–82 | – |

#### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| (1) Saigon Heat | 3–1 | (3) Nha Trang Dolphins | 98–95 (OT) | 77–72 | 74–95 | 81–76 (OT) | – |

## Statistics
### Individual statistic leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Kentrell Barkley | Saigon Heat | 30.2 |
| Assists per game | Madarious Gibbs | Nha Trang Dolphins | 8.5 |
| Rebounds per game | John Fields | Thang Long Warriors | 17.7 |
| Steals per game | Tam Dinh | Hanoi Buffaloes | 2.8 |
| Blocks per game | DeAngelo Hamilton | Cantho Catfish | 2.8 |
| Field goal percentage | John Fields | Thang Long Warriors | 70.5% |
| Three point FG percentage | Vo Kim Ban | Saigon Heat | 42.2% |

### Team statistic leaders

| Category | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Saigon Heat | 87.7 |
| Rebounds per game | Saigon Heat | 39.2 |
| Assists per game | Saigon Heat | 20.6 |
| Steals per game | Hanoi Buffaloes | 13.3 |
| Blocks per game | Nha Trang Dolphins | 4.0 |
| Turnovers per game | Ho Chi Minh City Wings | 17.8 |
| Fouls per game | Thang Long Warriors | 22.0 |
| FG% | Ho Chi Minh City Wings | 45.7% |
| 3P% | Saigon Heat | 34.5% |
| FT% | Hanoi Buffaloes | 69.5% |

## Awards
### Yearly awards

2023 VBA Awards :
| Award | Recipient | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Kentrell Barkley | Saigon Heat |
| Most Valuable Local Player | Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh | Saigon Heat |
| Most Valuable Heritage Player | Dominique Tham | Nha Trang Dolphins |
| Most Popular Player of the Year | Vo Kim Ban | Saigon Heat |
| Defensive Player of the Year | John Fields | Thang Long Warriors |
| Rookie of the Year | Nguyen Hoang Phuc | Nha Trang Dolphins |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Son Minh Tam | Nha Trang Dolphins |
| Most Improved Player | Tran Van Trung | Ho Chi Minh City Wings |
| Coach of the Year | Matt Van Pelt | Saigon Heat |