The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979.[1] The Perth Wildcats became champions. They drew an average home attendance of 12,974, the highest in the 2019–20 NBL season.[2]
Teams
Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 Season with the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix.[3]
Off-season changes
- The South East Melbourne Phoenix joined the NBL.
- Will Weaver replaced Andrew Gaze as head coach of the Sydney Kings.
- Dan Shamir replaced Kevin Braswell as head coach of the New Zealand Breakers.
- Matt Flinn replaced Rob Beveridge as head coach of the Illawarra Hawks.
Pre-season
The pre-season games started on 19 June 2019 and ended on 16 October 2019. The pre-season featured games in China, the Philippines and the United States, and featured the NBLxNBA 2019 Tour in which five NBL teams played a total of seven games.
Ladder
| 2019–20 NBL pre-season ladder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NBL Blitz ladder
| 2019 NBL Blitz ladder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total Rounds Legend
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Regular season
The 2019–20 regular season took place over 20 rounds between 3 October 2019 and 16 February 2020.
Ladder
| Pos | 2019–20 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | |
| 1 | Sydney Kings | 28 | 20 | 8 | 71.43% | 4–1 | W2 | 12–2 | 8–6 | 2642 | 2472 | 106.88% |
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 28 | 19 | 9 | 67.86% | 4–1 | W3 | 11–3 | 8–6 | 2529 | 2409 | 104.98% |
| 3 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 3–2 | L2 | 11–3 | 5–9 | 2587 | 2547 | 101.57% |
| 4 | Melbourne United | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 4–1 | W3 | 9–5 | 6–8 | 2638 | 2560 | 103.05% |
| 5 | Brisbane Bullets | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 3–2 | W1 | 10–4 | 5–9 | 2607 | 2557 | 101.96% |
| 6 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 4–1 | W4 | 9–5 | 6–8 | 2514 | 2468 | 101.86% |
| 7 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 1–4 | L2 | 8–6 | 4–10 | 2654 | 2768 | 95.88% |
| 8 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 28 | 9 | 19 | 32.14% | 0–5 | L8 | 6–8 | 3–11 | 2671 | 2761 | 96.74% |
| 9 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 5 | 23 | 17.86% | 0–5 | L10 | 3–11 | 2–12 | 2354 | 2654 | 88.70% |
Updated to match(es) played on 16 February 2020. Source: NBL.com.au
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 between the teams will determine order of seeding.
1Melbourne United won on overall points percentage. Brisbane Bullets finished 5th on overall points percentage.
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.
| 2019–20 NBL season | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Adelaide 36ers | – | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Cairns Taipans | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Melbourne United | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| New Zealand Breakers | – | – | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Perth Wildcats | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Sydney Kings | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Finals
The 2020 NBL Finals were played in February and March 2020, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final series and a best-of-five Grand Final series.[4] In the semi-finals, the higher seed hosted the first and third games. In the Grand Final, the higher seed hosts the first, third and fifth games.
Despite the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple other sporting events being cancelled due to the pandemic, the Grand Final series started on 8 March 2020. Beginning with Game 2, all remaining games would be played behind closed doors with no spectators. After Game 3, the Sydney Kings (who were trailing 2–1 in the series) announced that they would pull out of the Grand Final due to COVID-19 concerns. The NBL therefore cancelled the remainder of the series, and named the Perth Wildcats as NBL champions by default.[5][6][7]
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Sydney Kings | 86 | 80 | 89 | |||||||||
| 4 | Melbourne United | 80 | 125 | 87 | |||||||||
| 1 | Sydney Kings | 86 | 97 | 96 | |||||||||
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 88 | 85 | 111 | |||||||||
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 108 | 74 | 93 | |||||||||
| 3 | Cairns Taipans | 107 | 85 | 82 | |||||||||
Awards
Pre-season
- Most Valuable Player (Ray Borner Medal): John Roberson (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
- 3 Point Shootout: David Barlow (Melbourne United)
- Dunk Contest: Terry Armstrong (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
Regular season
Player of the Week
| Rounds | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Mitch Creek | South East Melbourne Phoenix |
| Round 2 | Bryce Cotton | Perth Wildcats |
| Round 3 | Andrew Bogut | Sydney Kings |
| Round 4 | Shawn Long | Melbourne United |
| Round 5 | Jason Cadee | Brisbane Bullets |
| Round 6 | LaMelo Ball | Illawarra Hawks |
| Round 7 | Jerome Randle | Adelaide 36ers |
| Round 8 | LaMelo Ball | Illawarra Hawks |
| Round 9 | Cameron Oliver | Cairns Taipans |
| Round 10 | Nick Kay | Perth Wildcats |
| Round 11 | John Roberson | South East Melbourne Phoenix |
| Jerome Randle | Adelaide 36ers | |
| Round 12 | Scotty Hopson | New Zealand Breakers |
| Round 13 | Lamar Patterson | Brisbane Bullets |
| Round 14 | Dane Pineau | South East Melbourne Phoenix |
| Round 15 | Scott Machado | Cairns Taipans |
| Round 16 | Scotty Hopson | New Zealand Breakers |
| Round 17 | Miles Plumlee | Perth Wildcats |
| Round 18 | Nick Kay | Perth Wildcats |
| Round 19 | Cameron Oliver | Cairns Taipans |
| Round 20 | Chris Goulding | Melbourne United |
Awards night
- Most Valuable Player (Andrew Gaze Trophy): Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
- Rookie of the Year: LaMelo Ball (Illawarra Hawks)
- Best Defensive Player: D. J. Newbill (Cairns Taipans)
- Best Sixth Man: Jason Cadee (Brisbane Bullets)
- Most Improved Player: Will Magnay (Brisbane Bullets)
- Fans MVP: Scott Machado (Cairns Taipans)
- Coach of the Year (Lindsay Gaze Trophy): Mike Kelly (Cairns Taipans)
- Referee of the Year: Vaughan Mayberry
- GameTime by Kmart: Dane Pineau (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
- All-NBL First Team:
- All-NBL Second Team:
Post-season
- Semi-finals MVP: Nick Kay (Perth Wildcats), Jae'Sean Tate (Sydney Kings)
- Grand Final Series MVP (Larry Sengstock Medal): Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
Media
Australian Broadcast Rights to the 2019–20 season were held by SBS Viceland in the first year of a two-year deal. All 126 games were available live and free on streaming platforms such as SBS On Demand. ESPN also broadcast 59 games including all games after 7.30pm AEDT.[8] In New Zealand, Sky Sport were the official league broadcaster.[9] The NBL also became the first Australian sports body to broadcast their matches online with them signing a two-year deal with Twitch which included all pre-season games.[10] The NBL also signed a deal with Facebook Watch, which broadcast 52 games across the season in the United States.[11]
References
- ^ "#NBL20 Schedule Released". National Basketball League. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ https://thewest.com.au/sport/perth-wildcats/perth-wildcats-become-most-watched-team-in-nbl-history-with-club-attracting-more-than-250000-people-to-their-games-in-201920-season-ng-b881467113z.amp
- ^ "South East Melbourne Phoenix Set To Rise". National Basketball League. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ "Schedule for Hungry Jack's NBL Finals Presented by MG". nbl.com.au.
- ^ "NBL game two to be played in isolation". The West Australian. 13 March 2020.
- ^ "Remaining NBL Grand Final Series Games Cancelled | NBL". nbl.com.au.
- ^ "NBL news: NBL names Perth Wildcats champions, Sydney Kings". Fox Sports. 19 March 2020.
- ^ Mark, David (31 July 2019). "National Basketball League now on SBS and ESPN after Nine opts out of its broadcast deal". ABC. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "NBL and Breakers Team Up with SKY Sport". National Basketball League. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ Ward, Roy (11 October 2019). "NBL strikes 'revolutionary' live stream deal with Twitch". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ Ward, Roy (24 September 2019). "Lots to like: Facebook could open floodgates for NBL". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 October 2019.