# 2019–20 Dutch Basketball League

The 2019–20 Dutch Basketball League (DBL) was the 60th season of the Dutch Basketball League, the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands. The regular season started on 28 September.
On 12 March 2020, the season was postponed until 31 March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 14 March, the DBL announced to suspend the competition to at least 2 May. On 20 March, the DBL cancelled the rest of the season while naming no champion. Landstede Hammers qualified for the Basketball Champions League (BCL) based on the standings at the time.

## Format changes

From this season, the DBL adopted FIBA's home-grown players rule. Teams need to have at least 4 (for a 10-man roster) or 5 (for a 12-man roster) home-grown players on their roster. Due to this new rule, the previous limitation of maximum five foreign players, is dropped.

## Teams

On 4 May 2019, the DBL announced all nine teams from the last season would return, excluding Dutch Windmills which was dissolved. TBG Dragons from Nijmegen was planning to make its debut season, depending on the club being able to meet all license requirements. On 28 June, the DBL announced the Dragons withdrew.

### Arenas and locations

| Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Apollo Amsterdam | Amsterdam | Apollohal | 1,500 |
| Aris Leeuwarden | Leeuwarden | Kalverdijkje | 1,700 |
| BAL | Weert | Sporthal Boshoven | 1,000 |
| Den Helder Suns | Den Helder | Sporthal Sportlaan | 1,000 |
| Donar | Groningen | MartiniPlaza | 4,350 |
| Heroes Den Bosch | 's-Hertogenbosch | Maaspoort | 2,800 |
| Feyenoord | Rotterdam | Topsportcentrum Rotterdam | 1,000 |
| Landstede Hammers | Zwolle | Landstede Sportcentrum | 1,200 |
| ZZ Leiden | Leiden | Vijf Meihal | 2,000 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Team captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Apollo Amsterdam | Patrick Faijdherbe | Berend Weijs | Nike | Paul Meijering Steel |
| Aris Leeuwarden | Ferried Naciri | Andrzej Mazurczak | Jako | Friezon |
| BAL | Radenko Varagić | Roel van Overbeek | Spalding | |
| Den Helder Suns | Peter van Noord | Boyd van der Vuurst de Vries | Burned | |
| Donar | Erik Braal | Thomas Koenis | Macron | Amysoft |
| Heroes Den Bosch | Jean-Marc Jaumin | Stefan Wessels | Macron | Data City |
| Feyenoord | Toon van Helfteren | Keyshawn Woods | Adidas | Zeeuw & Zeeuw |
| Landstede Hammers | Herman van den Belt | Nigel van Oostrum | Acerbis | Landstede |
| ZZ Leiden | Rolf Franke | Worthy de Jong | Peak | Zorg en Zekerheid |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Feyenoord | Jan Stalman (interim) | End of interim spell | 1 May 2019 | Pre-season | Toon van Helfteren | 15 April 2019 |
| Aris Leeuwarden | Anne van Dijk (interim) | End of interim spell | 1 May 2019 | Pre-season | Ferried Naciri | 5 June 2019 |
| Heroes Den Bosch | Ivica Skelin | End of contract | 23 June 2019 | Pre-season | Jean-Marc Jaumin | 23 June 2019 |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Landstede Hammers | 20 | 17 | 3 | 1743 | 1483 | +260 | 34 | |
| 2 | Donar | 22 | 17 | 5 | 1878 | 1510 | +368 | 34 | Qualification to Champions League qualifying rounds |
| 3 | Heroes Den Bosch | 23 | 16 | 7 | 1933 | 1620 | +313 | 32 | Qualification to FIBA Europe Cup |
| 4 | ZZ Leiden | 21 | 12 | 9 | 1665 | 1624 | +41 | 24 | |
| 5 | Zeeuw & Zeeuw Feyenoord | 22 | 12 | 10 | 1715 | 1693 | +22 | 24 | |
| 6 | BAL | 24 | 9 | 15 | 1607 | 1828 | −221 | 18 | |
| 7 | Den Helder Suns | 23 | 7 | 16 | 1613 | 1839 | −226 | 14 | |
| 8 | Aris Leeuwarden | 24 | 7 | 17 | 1548 | 1806 | −258 | 14 | |
| 9 | Apollo Amsterdam | 23 | 4 | 19 | 1616 | 1915 | −299 | 8 | |
* ↑ Initially, the first six teams would qualify for the playoffs (the first two for the semifinals, the other four quarterfinals). However, due to the interruption of the league, the playoffs were suspended. As first club in the standings, Landstede Hammers qualifies for the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League, but Donar was granted spot instead.
* ↑ Landstede Hammers declined its invitation for the FIBA Europe Cup.

### Results

| Home \ Away | AMS | LEE | BAL | DHE | DON | FEY | NHO | LAN | ZZL | AMS | LEE | BAL | DHE | DON | FEY | NHO | LAN | ZZL |
| Apollo Amsterdam | — | 80–68 | 59–76 | 103–79 | 71–86 | 61–70 | 57–103 | 84–96 | 81–100 | — | – | 76–75 | 73–77 | – | 84–68 | 67–90 | – | – |
| Aris Leeuwarden | 86–78 | — | 72–80 | 78–67 | 70–103 | 74–75 | 60–85 | 86–99 | 20–0 | 81–75 | — | 60–48 | – | – | – | – | 71–73 | 66–60 |
| BAL | 75–73 | 74–62 | — | 72–81 | 48–97 | 69–82 | 54–77 | 62–89 | 84–77 | – | 59–60 | — | 76–73 | 53–76 | 77–61 | – | – | – |
| Den Helder Suns | 93–77 | 74–63 | 72–67 | — | 72–100 | 72–79 | 66–79 | 78–92 | 91–75 | – | 76–51 | – | — | 70–88 | – | – | – | – |
| Donar | 100–53 | 73–63 | 89–52 | 109–65 | — | 74–68 | 91–75 | – | – | 83–72 | – | 91–54 | – | — | – | 79–69 | – | – |
| Zeeuw & Zeeuw Feyenoord | 93–71 | 98–62 | 70–84 | 91–71 | 102–93 | — | 67–57 | – | 79–82 | – | 73–43 | – | 91–76 | 79–66 | — | – | – | – |
| Heroes Den Bosch | 113–67 | 82–71 | 84–61 | 94–69 | 65–59 | 98–86 | — | 71–57 | 109–83 | – | 98–59 | 76–83 | 90–63 | – | 91–62 | — | – | – |
| Landstede Hammers | 79–66 | 103–62 | 78–54 | 89–57 | 77–70 | 103–63 | 93–80 | — | 92–75 | 102–71 | – | – | – | 69–98 | 89–77 | – | — | 92–84 |
| ZZ Leiden | 79–66 | 73–62 | 93–70 | 89–65 | 72–80 | 103–63 | 93–80 | 82–73 | — | – | – | – | 90–79 | 81–73 | – | 78–69 | 92–98 | — |

## Dutch clubs in European competitions

| Team | Competition | Progress |
| Donar | Champions League | First qualifying round |
| Donar | FIBA Europe Cup | Regular season |
| Landstede Hammers | FIBA Europe Cup | Second round |
| ZZ Leiden | FIBA Europe Cup | Second round |