2020 NBL Finals


The 2020 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 2019–20 NBL season and the conclusion of the season. The semi-finals started on 28 February and finished on 5 March 2020, with the following Grand Final starting on 8 March 2020.
The Grand Final series was due to finish by 22 March 2020, however the COVID-19 pandemic forced the series to finish on 15 March 2020. The Perth Wildcats were leading 2–1 over the Sydney Kings in the best-of-five series when the remaining games were cancelled, which led the NBL to award Perth the title.

Format

The finals was played in February and March 2020 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.

Impact of the coronavirus pandemic

Prior to Game 2 of the Grand Final, the NBL announced that the remainder of the Grand Final series would be played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with only players, essential personnel and friends and family would be permitted to attend the remaining games, and if any of the players involved were diagnosed with coronavirus, the Grand Final series would be immediately suspended.
Following Game 3, the Sydney Kings informed the NBL that they did not wish to proceed with the remaining two games.
Subsequently, the NBL decided to cancel Games 4 and 5, with the Perth Wildcats leading the series 2–1, and announced that the Wildcats had been declared champions.

Qualification

Qualified teams

Ladder

Seedings

  1. Sydney Kings
  2. Perth Wildcats
  3. Cairns Taipans
  4. Melbourne United
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

Semi-finals series

(2) Perth Wildcats vs. (3) Cairns Taipans

Regular season series

Cairns won 2–1 in the regular season series:

(1) Sydney Kings vs. (4) Melbourne United

Regular season series

Sydney won 3–1 in the regular season series:

Grand Final series

(1) Sydney Kings vs. (2) Perth Wildcats

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Games 4 and 5

Games 4 and 5 were cancelled and the Perth Wildcats declared champions after the Sydney Kings indicated they did not wish to proceed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.