# 2024 NLL season

The 2024 NLL season was the 37th season of play of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The season began on December 1, 2023, and ended on May 18, 2024, with the Buffalo Bandits sweeping the Albany FireWolves 2–0 in the NLL Finals series to claim their sixth league title.

## League business
### NLL Unboxed

On November 16, 2023, the NLL announced "NLL Unboxed", a new initiative to promote lacrosse among youth via branded "lacrosse communities" in strategic markets that do not currently have NLL teams. As part of the initiative, the NLL hosted a regular season game known as the NLL Unboxed Series in Laval, Quebec (a suburb of Unboxed market Montreal, which previously had an NLL team in 2002 in the form of the Montreal Express) featuring the New York Riptide hosting the Toronto Rock at Place Bell.

### Team relocation

On February 21, 2024, the NLL announced that the New York Riptide would relocate to Ottawa, and will be renamed the Ottawa Black Bears.

## Teams

2024 National Lacrosse League :
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Albany FireWolves | Albany, New York | MVP Arena | 14,236 |
| Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | KeyBank Center | 19,070 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | Calgary, Alberta | Scotiabank Saddledome | 19,289 |
| Colorado Mammoth | Denver, Colorado | Ball Arena | 18,000 |
| Georgia Swarm | Duluth, Georgia | Gas South Arena | 10,500 |
| Halifax Thunderbirds | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Scotiabank Centre | 10,500 |
| Las Vegas Desert Dogs | Paradise, Nevada | Michelob Ultra Arena | 12,000 |
| New York Riptide | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 13,917 |
| Panther City Lacrosse Club | Fort Worth, Texas | Dickies Arena | 12,200 |
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo Center | 19,306 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 |
| San Diego Seals | San Diego, California | Pechanga Arena | 12,920 |
| Saskatchewan Rush | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | SaskTel Centre | 15,195 |
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Scotiabank Arena | 18,800 |
| Vancouver Warriors | Vancouver, British Columbia | Rogers Arena | 18,910 |

## Regular season

The 2024 season introduced a new regular season format; conferences were abolished, with all teams now playing within the same standings. Each team played each other at least once, and the schedule formula provided the opportunity for four "flex games" to showcase league rivalries and players. The top eight teams advanced to the playoffs.Reference:
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Toronto Rock – xz | 18 | 15 | 3 | .833 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 8–1 | 218 | 169 | +49 | 12.11 | 9.39 |
| 2 | San Diego Seals – x | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 2.0 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 210 | 178 | +32 | 11.67 | 9.89 |
| 3 | Albany FireWolves – x | 18 | 11 | 7 | .611 | 4.0 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 206 | 191 | +15 | 11.44 | 10.61 |
| 4 | Buffalo Bandits – x | 18 | 11 | 7 | .611 | 4.0 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 237 | 212 | +25 | 13.17 | 11.78 |
| 5 | Georgia Swarm – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 5.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 198 | 197 | +1 | 11.00 | 10.94 |
| 6 | Halifax Thunderbirds – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 5.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 228 | 200 | +28 | 12.67 | 11.11 |
| 7 | Panther City Lacrosse Club – x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 6.0 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 205 | 202 | +3 | 11.39 | 11.22 |
| 8 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 214 | 226 | −12 | 11.89 | 12.56 |
| 9 | New York Riptide | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 206 | 234 | −28 | 11.44 | 13.00 |
| 10 | Saskatchewan Rush | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 217 | 210 | +7 | 12.06 | 11.67 |
| 11 | Calgary Roughnecks | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 6–3 | 2–7 | 198 | 194 | +4 | 11.00 | 10.78 |
| 12 | Vancouver Warriors | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 202 | 211 | −9 | 11.22 | 11.72 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Wings | 18 | 6 | 12 | .333 | 9.0 | 1–8 | 5–4 | 198 | 233 | −35 | 11.00 | 12.94 |
| 14 | Las Vegas Desert Dogs | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 10.0 | 2–7 | 3–6 | 176 | 223 | −47 | 9.78 | 12.39 |
| 15 | Colorado Mammoth | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 10.0 | 4–5 | 1–8 | 193 | 226 | −33 | 10.72 | 12.56 |
x = clinched playoff berth | z = clinched top overall record

## Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; LB = Loose Balls
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | LB |
| Josh Byrne | Buffalo Bandits | 18 | 53 | 82 | 135 | 14 | 75 |
| Dhane Smith | Buffalo Bandits | 18 | 33 | 101 | 134 | 8 | 119 |
| Jeff Teat | New York Riptide | 18 | 58 | 73 | 131 | 6 | 111 |
| Connor Fields | Rochester Knighthawks | 18 | 56 | 64 | 120 | 10 | 158 |
| Mitch Jones | Philadelphia Wings | 18 | 36 | 75 | 111 | 0 | 110 |
| Wesley Berg | San Diego Seals | 18 | 41 | 67 | 108 | 18 | 96 |
| Jesse King | Calgary Roughnecks | 18 | 32 | 73 | 105 | 16 | 85 |
| Keegan Bal | Vancouver Warriors | 18 | 49 | 56 | 105 | 2 | 66 |
| Will Malcom | Panther City Lacrosse Club | 18 | 37 | 68 | 105 | 0 | 94 |
| Clarke Petterson | Halifax Thunderbirds | 18 | 40 | 64 | 104 | 10 | 91 |

## Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: GA = Goals Allowed; SV% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA |
| Nick Rose | Toronto Rock | 18 | 1078 | 15 | 2 | 165 | 0.811 | 9.18 |
| Christopher Origlieri | San Diego Seals | 18 | 1059 | 13 | 5 | 173 | 0.792 | 9.79 |
| Matt Vinc | Buffalo Bandits | 16 | 962 | 11 | 5 | 182 | 0.781 | 11.34 |
| Doug Jamieson | Albany FireWolves | 17 | 978 | 11 | 5 | 165 | 0.800 | 10.12 |
| Brett Dobson | Georgia Swarm | 18 | 992 | 10 | 7 | 185 | 0.780 | 11.18 |

## Playoffs

| Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal (best of 3) | Semifinal (best of 3) | Semifinal (best of 3) | NLL Final (best of 3) | NLL Final (best of 3) | NLL Final (best of 3) |
| 1 | Toronto | 9 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Rochester | 6 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Rochester | 6 | 1 | Toronto | 0 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Buffalo | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Buffalo | 10* | 4 | Buffalo | 2 | | | |
| 5 | Georgia | 9 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Georgia | 9 | | | | 4 | Buffalo | 2 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Albany | 0 |
| 2 | San Diego | 9* | | | | | | | 3 | Albany | 0 |
| 7 | Panther City | 8 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Panther City | 8 | 2 | San Diego | 0 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Albany | 2 | | | |
| 3 | Albany | 9 | 3 | Albany | 2 | | | |
| 6 | Halifax | 3 | | | | | | |
*Overtime

### Semifinal (best of three)
#### (1) Toronto Rock vs. (4) Buffalo Bandits

Bandits win series 2–0.

#### (2) San Diego Seals vs. (3) Albany FireWolves

FireWolves win series 2–0.

#### (3) Albany FireWolves vs. (4) Buffalo Bandits
### NLL Final (best of three)

Bandits win series 2–0.

## Awards
### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Other Finalists |
| Most Valuable Player | Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits | Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits Nick Rose, Toronto Rock |
| Goaltender of the Year | Nick Rose, Toronto Rock | Doug Jamieson, Albany FireWolves Chris Origlieri, San Diego Seals |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Ryan Dilks, Vancouver Warriors | Mitch de Snoo, Toronto Rock Brad Kri, Toronto Rock |
| Transition Player of the Year | Jake Withers, Halifax Thunderbirds | Ian MacKay, Buffalo Bandits Shane Simpson, Calgary Roughnecks |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits | Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits Jeff Teat, New York Riptide |
| Rookie of the Year | Alex Simmons, Albany FireWolves | Owen Grant, Vancouver Warriors Tye Kurtz, Albany FireWolves |
| Sportsmanship Award | Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm | Keegan Bal, Vancouver Warriors Tom Schreiber, Toronto Rock |
| GM of the Year | Glenn Clark, Albany FireWolves | Jamie Dawick, Toronto Rock Curt Malawsky, Vancouver Warriors |
| Les Bartley Award | Glenn Clark, Albany FireWolves | Curt Malawsky, Vancouver Warriors Matt Sawyer, Toronto Rock |
| Executive of the Year Award | John Catalano, Halifax Thunderbirds | Mike Hancock, Toronto Rock Oliver Marti, Albany FireWolves |
| Teammate of the Year Award | Zach Greer, Las Vegas Desert Dogs | not announced |
| Tom Borrelli Award | Adam Levi, NLL.com, NLLPA, Inside Lacrosse, "Lacrosse Matrix" podcast | Teddy Jenner, TSN, "Off the CrosseBar" podcast Graeme Perrow, NLL Chatter |

## Stadiums and locations

| Georgia Swarm | Albany FireWolves | New York Riptide | Philadelphia Wings |
| Gas South Arena | MVP Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Wells Fargo Center |
| Capacity: 11,355 | Capacity: 14,236 | Capacity: 13,917 | Capacity: 19,543 |
| Buffalo Bandits | Halifax Thunderbirds | Rochester Knighthawks | Toronto Rock |
| KeyBank Center | Scotiabank Centre | Blue Cross Arena | First Ontario Centre |
| Capacity: 19,070 | Capacity: 10,595 | Capacity: 11,200 | Capacity: 17,383 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | Colorado Mammoth | San Diego Seals | Saskatchewan Rush |
| WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome | Ball Arena | Pechanga Arena | Co-op Field at SaskTel Centre |
| Capacity: 19,289 | Capacity: 18,007 | Capacity: 12,920 | Capacity: 15,190 |
| Vancouver Warriors | Las Vegas Desert Dogs | Panther City Lacrosse Club |
| Rogers Arena | Michelob Ultra Arena | Dickies Arena |
| Capacity: 18,910 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,200 |

### Regular season

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Buffalo Bandits | 9 | 16,974 | 152,767 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 9 | 11,713 | 105,417 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 9 | 10,380 | 93,416 |
| Halifax Thunderbirds | 9 | 9,165 | 82,484 |
| Vancouver Warriors | 9 | 8,874 | 79,867 |
| Toronto Rock | 9 | 8,636 | 77,727 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 9 | 8,364 | 75,276 |
| Saskatchewan Rush | 9 | 8,085 | 72,767 |
| Las Vegas Desert Dogs | 9 | 6,350 | 57,154 |
| Georgia Swarm | 9 | 6,231 | 56,079 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 9 | 5,526 | 48,738 |
| New York Riptide | 9 | 4,891 | 44,021 |
| San Diego Seals | 9 | 4,667 | 42,002 |
| Albany FireWolves | 9 | 3,963 | 35,665 |
| Panther City LC | 9 | 2,704 | 24,332 |
| League | 135 | 7,768 | 1,047,712 |

### Playoffs

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Buffalo Bandits | 3 | 17,749 | 53,247 |
| Toronto Rock | 2 | 7,032 | 14,064 |
| San Diego Seals | 2 | 4,903 | 9,805 |
| Albany FireWolves | 3 | 2,930 | 8,790 |
| League | 10 | 8,591 | 85,906 |