2020 New Zealand NBL season
The 2020 NBL season was the 39th season of the National Basketball League.
The regular season was set to commence on Thursday 9 April and end on Sunday 12 July, with the finals then taking place between 16–24 July. However, following the coronavirus outbreak in early to mid March 2020, the season was suspended indefinitely. After two months of deliberation and in the wake of easing coronavirus restrictions, the league announced a revised competition format for 2020 beginning on Tuesday 23 June and ending with the grand final on Saturday 1 August.
The 2020 season was initially set to feature eight teams following the withdrawal of the Southern Huskies and Super City Rangers and the inclusion of the Franklin Bulls for the first time. However, three of the top four teams in 2019 decided not to enter the modified competition. This left the door open for the inclusion of the Otago Nuggets, a team who were looking to re-enter the league in 2021 for the first time since 2014, and the Huskies. Coinciding with the announcement of a revised 2020 competition, the Huskies franchise relocated from Tasmania to Auckland and became the Auckland Huskies.
The 2020 season began on 23 June, with all seven teams playing up to three games per week over six weeks. The season concluded on 1 August with the Otago Nuggets defeating the Manawatu Jets in the grand final to win their maiden NBL championship. All teams were based in Auckland, with all games played out of The Trusts Arena.
Team information
Summary
Regular season standings
Finals
Tuesday 28 July- Elimination Final 1 – 6th vs 7th
- Qualifying Final – 1st vs 2nd
- Elimination Final 2 – 3rd vs Winner EF1
- Elimination Final 3 – 4th vs 5th
- Semi Final 1 – Winner QF vs Lowest EF Winner
- Semi Final 2 – Loser QF vs Highest EF Winner
- Grand Final – Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2
Awards
Statistics leaders
Stats as of the end of the regular seasonCategory | Player | Team | Stat |
Points per game | Derone Raukawa | Taranaki Mountainairs | 22.8 |
Rebounds per game | Marcel Jones | Taranaki Mountainairs | 13.4 |
Assists per game | Derone Raukawa | Taranaki Mountainairs | 7.6 |
Steals per game | Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa | Auckland Huskies | 2.7 |
Blocks per game | Sam Timmins | Franklin Bulls | 1.9 |
Regular season
- Most Valuable Player: Tom Vodanovich
- Defensive Player of the Year: Jarrod Kenny and Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa
- Youth Player of the Year: Taane Samuel
- Coach of the Year: Brent Matehaere
- All-Star Five:
- * G: Derone Raukawa
- * G: Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa
- * F: Jordan Ngatai
- * F: Marcel Jones
- * C: Tom Vodanovich
Finals
- Grand Final MVP: Jordan Hunt