2021 NBL Finals
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 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Australia |
| Dates | 10 – 25 June |
| Season | 2020–21 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Defending champions | Perth Wildcats |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Melbourne United (6th title) |
| Runner-up | Perth Wildcats |
| Semifinalists | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 9 |
| Attendance | 48,420 (5,380 per match) |
| Scoring leader(s) | Chris Goulding (Melbourne) |
| Awards | |
| MVP | Jock Landale (Melbourne) |
The 2021 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 2020–21 NBL season and the conclusion of the season.
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.[1]
Qualification
Qualified teams
| Team | Date of qualification |
Round of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Previous appearance |
Previous best performance |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne United | 13 May 2021 | 18 | 26th | 2020 | Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2018) | [2] |
| Perth Wildcats | 15 May 2021 | 18 | 35th | 2020 | Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020) | [3] |
| Illawarra Hawks | 1 June 2021 | 21 | 21st | 2017 | Champions (2001) | [4] |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 8 June 2021 | 21 | 1st | N/A | [5] | |
Ladder
| Pos | 2020–21 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | NBL Cup | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | |||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 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
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 | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne United | 96 | 79 | 84 | |||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Illawarra Hawks | 74 | 71 | 71 | |||||||||||
Semi-finals series
(2) Perth Wildcats vs. (3) Illawarra Hawks
| 10 June 2021 | Perth Wildcats | 72–74 (Series: Illawarra leads series, 1–0) |
Illawarra Hawks | RAC Arena, Perth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 | Scoring by quarter: 22–16, 17–17, 17–19, 16–22 | |||
| ESPN, SBS Viceland | Pts: Blanchfield 24 Rebs: Mooney 16 Asts: Bairstow, Norton 3 |
boxscore report |
Pts: Jessup 17 Rebs: Simon 9 Asts: Naar 5 |
Attendance: 7,662 Referees: Michael Aylen, Mitch Hare, Ruben Woolcock |
| 12 June 2021 | Illawarra Hawks | 71–79 (Series: Series tied, 1–1) |
Perth Wildcats | WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:30 | Scoring by quarter: 13–16, 18–12, 22–32, 18–19 | |||
| ESPN, SBS Viceland | Pts: Harvey 24 Rebs: Froling 6 Asts: Simon 5 |
boxscore report |
Pts: Mooney 18 Rebs: Travers 10 Asts: White 6 |
Attendance: 5,217 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Damian Lyons, Mitch Hare |
| 14 June 2021 | Perth Wildcats | 79–71 (Series: Perth wins series, 2–1) |
Illawarra Hawks | RAC Arena, Perth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 | Scoring by quarter: 23–15, 23–17, 9–19, 24–20 | |||
| ESPN, SBS Viceland | Pts: Blanchfield 24 Rebs: Mooney 14 Asts: Travers 4 |
boxscore report |
Pts: Froling 14 Rebs: Simon 11 Asts: Simon 4 |
Attendance: 8,986 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Mitch Hare, James Griguol |
| Perth won 3–1 in the regular season series |
|---|
(1) Melbourne United vs. (4) South East Melbourne Phoenix
| 11 June 2021 | Melbourne United | 96–78 (Series: Melbourne leads series, 1–0) |
South East Melbourne Phoenix | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 | Scoring by quarter: 26–20, 32–18, 27–16, 11–24 | |||
| ESPN, SBS Viceland | Pts: Landale 26 Rebs: Peatling 6 Asts: McCarron 5 |
boxscore report |
Pts: Moore 17 Rebs: Broekhoff, Wetzell 7 Asts: Creek 6 |
Attendance: 500 Referees: Chris Reid, Daniel Battye, James Griguol |
| 13 June 2021 | South East Melbourne Phoenix | 90–79 (Series: Series tied, 1–1) |
Melbourne United | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 | Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 20–22, 20–20, 24–9 | |||
| ESPN, SBS Viceland | Pts: Creek, Sykes 26 Rebs: Wetzell 8 Asts: Sykes 4 |
boxscore report |
Pts: Hopson 19 Rebs: Lual-Acuil, Peatling 7 Asts: McCarron 5 |
Attendance: 500 Referees: Chris Reid, Damian Lyons, Ruben Woolcock |
| 15 June 2021 | Melbourne United | 84–74 (Series: Melbourne wins series, 2–1) |
South East Melbourne Phoenix | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 | Scoring by quarter: 14–24, 26–21, 18–12, 26–17 | |||
| ESPN, SBS Viceland | Pts: Landale 27 Rebs: Landale, McCarron 8 Asts: McCarron 6 |
boxscore report |
Pts: Te Rangi 22 Rebs: Creek 9 Asts: Sykes 4 |
Attendance: 500 Referees: Chris Reid, Damian Lyons, Daniel Battye |
| Melbourne won 3–2 in the regular season series |
|---|