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 and being cancelled on 15 March 2020.
 | |||
| Country | Australia New Zealand | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 28 February – 15 March 2020 | ||
| Season | 2019–20 | ||
| Teams | 4 | ||
| Defending champions | Perth Wildcats | ||
| Champions | Perth Wildcats (10th title) | ||
| Runners-up | Sydney Kings | ||
| Semifinalists | |||
| Matches played | 9 | ||
| Winning coach | Trevor Gleeson | ||
| MVP | Bryce Cotton, Perth Wildcats | ||
| Attendance | 66,000 (7,333 per match) | ||
| Top scorer | Bryce Cotton | ||
| |||
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.[1]
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.[2]
Impact of the COVID-19 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. In the event of a player being diagnosed with COVID-19, 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.[4] Subsequently, the NBL decided to cancel Games 4 and 5. With the Perth Wildcats leading the series 2–1,[5] the NBL announced that the Wildcats were declared the champions.[6]
Qualification
Qualified teams
| Team | Date of qualification |
Round of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Previous appearance |
Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney Kings | 24 January 2020 | 17 | 15th | 2019 | Champions (2003, 2004, 2005) |
| Perth Wildcats | 1 February 2020 | 18 | 34th | 2019 | Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019) |
| Cairns Taipans | 8 February 2020 | 19 | 8th | 2017 | Runners-Up (2011, 2015) |
| Melbourne United | 16 February 2020 | 20 | 25th | 2019 | Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2018) |
Ladder
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Total Rounds Legend
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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.
| 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 |
| South East 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 |
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
| Semi-finals | 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 | |||||||||||
Semi-finals series
(2) Perth Wildcats vs. (3) Cairns Taipans
| 28 February 2020 | Perth Wildcats | 108–107(OT) (Series: Perth leads series, 1–0) |
Cairns Taipans | RAC Arena, Perth, Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:30 | Scoring by quarter: 29–20, 16–34, 23–17, 25–22, Overtime: 15–14 | |||
| ESPN SBS Viceland |
Pts: Cotton 42 Rebs: Kay 9 Asts: Cotton, Kay 6 |
boxscore broadcast report |
Pts: Machado 32 Rebs: Oliver 18 Asts: Machado 9 |
Attendance: 10,858 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Chris Reid, Nico Fernandes |
| 1 March 2020 | Cairns Taipans | 85–74 (Series: Series tied 1–1) |
Perth Wildcats | Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns, Queensland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 | Scoring by quarter: 30–16, 17–15, 16–22, 22–21 | |||
| ESPN SBS Viceland |
Pts: Oliver 22 Rebs: Oliver 19 Asts: Machado 4 |
boxscore broadcast report |
Pts: Steindl 18 Rebs: Kay 10 Asts: Kay 4 |
Attendance: 5,188 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Chris Reid, Nico Fernandes |
| 5 March 2020 | Perth Wildcats | 93–82 (Series: Perth wins series, 2–1) |
Cairns Taipans | RAC Arena, Perth, Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:30 | Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 27–20, 24–22, 17–16 | |||
| ESPN SBS Viceland |
Pts: White 26 Rebs: Kay 12 Asts: Cotton 8 |
boxscore broadcast report |
Pts: Oliver 20 Rebs: Oliver 8 Asts: Machado 6 |
Attendance: 10,215 Referees: Michael Aylen, Damien Lyons, Nico Fernandes |
Regular season series
Cairns won 2–1 in the regular season series:
| 18 October 2019 | Perth Wildcats | 76–99 | Cairns Taipans | RAC Arena, Perth, Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 November 2019 | Cairns Taipans | 91–84 | Perth Wildcats | Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns, Queensland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 December 2019 | Cairns Taipans | 84–88 | Perth Wildcats | Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns, Queensland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) Sydney Kings vs. (4) Melbourne United
| 29 February 2020 | Sydney Kings | 86–80 (Series: Sydney leads series, 1–0) |
Melbourne United | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 | Scoring by quarter: 16–20, 21–23, 23–26, 26–11 | |||
| ESPN SBS Viceland |
Pts: Tate 23 Rebs: Bogut 10 Asts: Ware 5 |
boxscore broadcast report |
Pts: Trimble 34 Rebs: Long 11 Asts: Trimble 5 |
Attendance: 13,103 Referees: Michael Aylen, Damien Lyons, James Boyer |
| 2 March 2020 | Melbourne United | 125–80 (Series: Series tied 1–1) |
Sydney Kings | Melbourne Arena, Melbourne, Victoria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 | Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 32–7, 45–24, 22–25 | |||
| ESPN SBS Viceland |
Pts: Long 26 Rebs: Long 11 Asts: McCarron 5 |
boxscore broadcast report |
Pts: Tate 18 Rebs: Cooks 7 Asts: Louzada 2 |
Attendance: 6,914 Referees: Michael Aylen, Vaughan Mayberry, James Boyer |
| 5 March 2020 | Sydney Kings | 89–87 (Series: Sydney wins series, 2–1) |
Melbourne United | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 | Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 20–28, 23–18, 21–19 | |||
| ESPN SBS Viceland |
Pts: Tate 20 Rebs: Cooks 9 Asts: Lisch 4 |
boxscore broadcast report |
Pts: Goulding 19 Rebs: Long 9 Asts: Ili 5 |
Attendance: 8,075 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Chris Reid, James Boyer |
Regular season series
Sydney won 3–1 in the regular season series:
| 4 November 2019 | Melbourne United | 107–104 | Sydney Kings | Melbourne Arena, Melbourne, Victoria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 2019 | Sydney Kings | 111–101 | Melbourne United | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 December 2019 | Melbourne United | 81–104 | Sydney Kings | Melbourne Arena, Melbourne, Victoria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 January 2020 | Sydney Kings | 106–88 | Melbourne United | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Final series
(1) Sydney Kings vs. (2) Perth Wildcats
| 8 March 2020 | Sydney Kings | 86–88 (Series: Perth leads series, 1–0) |
Perth Wildcats | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00pm | Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 23–28, 24–16, 13–20 | |||
| ESPN SBS Viceland |
Pts: Bogut 18 Rebs: Bogut 12 Asts: Ware 4 |
boxscore broadcast report |
Pts: Cotton 32 Rebs: Plumlee 7 Asts: Cotton, Norton 4 |
Attendance: 11,647 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen, James Boyer |
| 13 March 2020 | Perth Wildcats | 85–97 (Series: Series tied 1–1) |
Sydney Kings | RAC Arena, Perth, Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:30pm | Scoring by quarter: 27–31, 24–26, 22–19, 12–21 | |||
| ESPN SBS Viceland |
Pts: Cotton 27 Rebs: Plumlee 8 Asts: Cotton, Norton 3 |
boxscore broadcast report |
Pts: Tate 20 Rebs: Bogut 13 Asts: Newley 5 |
Attendance: closed event Referees: Michael Aylen, Vaughan Mayberry, Chris Reid |
| 15 March 2020 | Sydney Kings | 96–111 (Series: Perth leads series, 2–1) |
Perth Wildcats | Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, New South Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00pm | Scoring by quarter: 18–29, 28–27, 24–28, 26–27 | |||
| ESPN SBS Viceland |
Pts: Tate 20 Rebs: Cooks 9 Asts: Bogut, Bruce 3 |
boxscore broadcast report |
Pts: Cotton 31 Rebs: Kay 12 Asts: Cotton 7 |
Attendance: closed event Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen, Chris Reid |
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.[5][6]
See also
References
- Ward, Roy (19 March 2020). "Bogut hits out at NBL decision to award title to Perth". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- "Schedule for Hungry Jack's NBL Finals Presented by MG | NBL". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- Uluc, Olgun (21 March 2020). "NBL finals 2020: Sydney Kings vs Perth Wildcats inside story, Paul Smith, Andrew Bogut, Larry Kestelman, Grand Final". Fox Sports. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- "Remaining NBL Grand Final Series Games Cancelled | NBL". nbl.com.au. NBL. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- "Perth Wildcats Crowned NBL20 Champions | NBL". nbl.com.au.
- "2019–20 NBL Ladder | NBL". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 22 February 2020.