2021–22 NBL season

  • ESPN
  • 10 Peach
New Zealand:
  • Sky Sport
Online:
  • NBL TV
    Kayo Sports
    10 Play
    Sky Sport NOW
Regular seasonSeason championsMelbourne UnitedSeason MVPUnited States Jaylen Adams (Sydney)FinalsChampionsSydney Kings (4th title)  Runners-upTasmania JackJumpersSemifinalistsMelbourne United
Illawarra HawksFinals MVPUnited States Xavier Cooks (Sydney)Statistical leaders
Points United States Bryce Cotton (Perth) 22.7
Rebounds Australia Xavier Cooks (Sydney) 9.8
Assists United States Jaylen Adams (Sydney) 6.1
Efficiency Australia Akoldah Gak (Illawarra) 78%
RecordsBiggest home win42 points
United 89–47 Kings
(16 December 2021)Biggest away win33 points
Breakers 60–93 Sixers
(24 April 2022)Highest scoring210 points
Taipans 112–98 Bullets
(23 April 2022)Lowest scoring128 points
JackJumpers 66–62 Breakers
(5 March 2022)Winning streak13 games
Sydney Kings
(6 February 2022 – 17 April)Losing streak10 games
New Zealand Breakers
(14 March 2022 – 24 April)Highest attendance16,149 – Qudos Bank Arena
Kings vs JackJumpers
(11 May 2022)Lowest attendance1,477 – MyState Bank Arena
Breakers vs JackJumpers
(30 January 2022)Total attendance684,715Average attendance4,998 NBL seasons
All statistics correct as of 11 May 2022.

The 2021–22 NBL season was the 44th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested the 2021–22 season, which commenced on 3 December 2021.[1][2]

Australian broadcast rights to the season are held by ESPN in the first season of a new three-year deal. All games are available live on ESPN and the streaming platform Kayo Sports.[3] After signing onto the new three-year deal, Network 10 will broadcast two Sunday afternoon games on 10 Peach and 10 Play.[4] In New Zealand, Sky Sport continue as the official league broadcaster, with Dongqiudi, TAP Sports, M Plus, Astro, Fanseat, Spring Media, Live Now and YouTube broadcasting games internationally.[5]

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Adelaide 36ers
Brisbane Bullets
Cairns Taipans
Illawarra Hawks
Melbourne United
New Zealand Breakers
Perth Wildcats
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix
Sydney Kings
Tasmania JackJumpers

Ten teams are competing in the 2021–22 season, with the Tasmania JackJumpers entering the league for their first season.[6]

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Adelaide 36ers Adelaide Adelaide Entertainment Centre 11,300
Brisbane Bullets Brisbane Nissan Arena 5,000
Cairns Taipans Cairns Cairns Convention Centre 5,300
Illawarra Hawks Wollongong WIN Entertainment Centre 6,000
Melbourne United Melbourne John Cain Arena 10,500
New Zealand Breakers Auckland Spark Arena 9,300
Hobart MyState Bank Arena 4,865
Bendigo Bendigo Stadium 4,000
Perth Wildcats Perth RAC Arena 14,800
South East Melbourne Phoenix Melbourne John Cain Arena 10,500
State Basketball Centre 3,200
Traralgon Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium 3,000
Sydney Kings Sydney Qudos Bank Arena 18,200
Tasmania JackJumpers Hobart MyState Bank Arena 4,865
Launceston Silverdome 5,000

Personnel and sponsorship

Team Coach Captain Main sponsor Kit manufacturer
Adelaide 36ers Australia C. J. Bruton Australia Mitch McCarron Walker Corporation Champion
Brisbane Bullets Canada James Duncan Australia Jason Cadee St. Genevieve
Cairns Taipans Australia Adam Forde Brazil Scott Machado CQUniversity
Illawarra Hawks United States Brian Goorjian Australia Andrew Ogilvy Pepper Money
Melbourne United Australia Dean Vickerman Australia Chris Goulding SodaStream
New Zealand Breakers Israel Dan Shamir New Zealand Thomas Abercrombie Sky Sport
Perth Wildcats Canada Scott Morrison Australia Jesse Wagstaff Pentanet
South East Melbourne Phoenix Australia Simon Mitchell Australia Kyle Adnam Mountain Goat Beer
Sydney Kings United States Chase Buford Australia Shaun Bruce
Australia Xavier Cooks 		Brydens Lawyers
Tasmania JackJumpers United States Scott Roth Australia Clint Steindl Spirit of Tasmania

Player transactions

Free agency negotiations were delayed until 28 June 2021, due to the late finish of the 2020–21 season which had been delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8][9]

Coaching transactions

Team Role 2020–21 season 2021–22 season
Adelaide 36ers Head coach Conner Henry C. J. Bruton
Brisbane Bullets Head coach Andrej Lemanis James Duncan
Assistant coach C. J. Bruton Peter Crawford
Cairns Taipans Head coach Mike Kelly Adam Forde
Assistant coach Jamie O'Loughlin Sam Gruggen
Brad Hill Kerry Williams
New Zealand Breakers Assistant coach Rashid Al-Kaleem N/A
Sydney Kings Head coach Adam Forde Chase Buford
Assistant coach James Duncan Fleur McIntyre
Sam Gruggen N/A
Perth Wildcats Head coach Trevor Gleeson Scott Morrison
Assistant coach Bob Thornton Keegan Crawford
Jacob Chance N/A
Tasmania JackJumpers Head coach N/A Scott Roth
Assistant coach N/A Jacob Chance
Mark Radford
Jack Fleming

Pre-season

The pre-season consisted of warm-up games leading up to the start of the regular season, with the NBL Blitz tournament running during this period. The NBL Blitz ran from 13 to 28 November with all ten teams competing, and was hosted throughout Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.[10][11]

Ladder

2021–22 NBL pre-season ladder
Ladder Information
Pos. Nat. Name Pld. W. L. Last 5 Streak Home Away For Against Pts % Win %
1 Australia Illawarra 2 2 0 2–0 W2 0–0 2–0 213 202 105.45% 100.00%
2 Australia Adelaide 5 5 0 5–0 W5 2–0 3–0 401 383 104.70% 100.00%
3 Australia Brisbane 4 3 1 3–1 L1 1–1 2–0 350 327 107.03% 75.00%
4 New Zealand New Zealand 3 2 1 2–1 W2 2–0 0–1 273 273 100.00% 66.67%
5 Australia S.E. Melbourne 4 2 2 2–2 W1 1–0 1–2 376 375 100.27% 50.00%
6 Australia Perth 5 2 3 2–3 L1 2–1 0–2 433 415 104.34% 40.00%
7 Australia Tasmania (NT) 5 2 3 2–3 W1 1–1 1–2 391 403 97.02% 40.00%
8 Australia Sydney 3 1 2 1–2 L1 1–1 0–1 248 253 98.02% 33.33%
9 Australia Melbourne (RC) 4 1 3 1–3 L3 1–1 0–2 342 350 97.71% 25.00%
10 Australia Cairns 5 0 5 0–5 L5 0–3 0–2 394 447 88.14% 0.00%

Total Rounds
2 weeks

Total Games
21 games

Legend
  • (NT) New Team
  • (RC) Reigning Champion
  • Updated: 28 November 2021

NBL Blitz ladder

2021 NBL Blitz ladder
Ladder Information
Pos. Nat. Name Pld. W. L. QW Last 5 Streak For Against Pts % Win % Pts.
1 Australia Adelaide 4 4 0 9.5 4–0 W4 308 290 106.21% 100.00% 21.5
2 Australia Brisbane (RC) 4 3 1 10.5 3–1 L1 350 327 107.03% 75.00% 19.5
3 Australia Illawarra† 2 2 0 6 2–0 W2 213 202 105.45% 100.00% 19
4 Australia Perth 4 2 2 9 2–2 W2 340 318 106.92% 50.00% 15
5 New Zealand New Zealand† 3 2 1 5.5 2–1 W2 273 273 100.00% 66.67% 15
6 Australia S.E. Melbourne 4 2 2 7.5 2–2 W1 376 375 100.27% 50.00% 13.5
7 Australia Sydney† 3 1 2 6 1–2 L1 248 253 98.02% 33.33% 12.5
8 Australia Melbourne 4 1 3 7 1–3 L3 342 350 97.71% 25.00% 10
9 Australia Tasmania (NT) 4 1 3 6 1–3 L2 308 335 91.94% 25.00% 9
10 Australia Cairns 4 0 4 5 0–4 L4 326 362 90.06% 0.00% 5
† Multiple games were cancelled due to NBL COVID-19 protocols. Teams were awarded 3.5 points per effected game.[12][13]

Total Rounds
2 weeks

Total Games
19 games

Legend
  • (NT) New Team
  • (RC) Reigning Champion
  • Updated: 28 November 2021


Regular season

The regular season began on 3 December 2021.[14][15][16] It consisted of 140 games spread across 21 rounds, with the final game being played on 24 April 2022.[17]

On 24 April 2022, Melbourne United claimed their 6th regular season championship.[18][19]

Ladder

Pos 2021–22 NBL season
  • v
  • t
  • e
Team Pld W L PCT Last 5 Streak Home Away PF PA PP
1 Melbourne United 28 20 8 71.43% 4–1 L1 9–5 11–3 2455 2244 109.40%
2 Illawarra Hawks 28 19 9 67.86% 4–1 W2 8–6 11–3 2498 2345 106.52%
3 Sydney Kings 28 19 9 67.86% 3–2 L1 9–5 10–4 2397 2313 103.63%
4 Tasmania JackJumpers 28 17 11 60.71% 4–1 W4 8–6 9–5 2230 2220 100.45%
5 Perth Wildcats 28 16 12 57.14% 2–3 L2 7–7 9–5 2495 2377 104.96%
6 S.E. Melbourne Phoenix 28 15 13 53.57% 3–2 W2 7–7 8–6 2456 2424 101.32%
7 Adelaide 36ers 28 10 18 35.71% 3–2 W1 6–8 4–10 2283 2346 97.31%
8 Brisbane Bullets 28 10 18 35.71% 2–3 L2 6–8 4–10 2379 2500 95.16%
9 Cairns Taipans 28 9 19 32.14% 1–4 W1 5–9 4–10 2228 2408 92.52%
10 New Zealand Breakers 28 5 23 17.86% 0–5 L10 2–12 3–11 2234 2478 90.15%

Updated to match(es) played on 24 April 2022. 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 will determine order of seeding.

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.
2021–22 NBL season
  • v
  • t
  • e
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Adelaide 36ers 8 6 8 8 8 8 7 8 8 8 8 7 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 8 7
Brisbane Bullets 7 5 7 6 6 7 6 5 7 9 7 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8
Cairns Taipans 9 7 4 4 5 5 5 6 9 7 9 10 9 9 10 9 9 8 8 9 9
Illawarra Hawks 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 3 3 3 2
Melbourne United 6 9 6 5 4 4 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
New Zealand Breakers 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10
Perth Wildcats 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 1 2 3 3 3 2 2 3 4 4 4 5
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix 1 1 2 2 2 2 4 3 1 2 3 2 2 2 4 5 5 6 6 6 6
Sydney Kings 5 4 5 7 7 6 8 7 5 6 5 4 5 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 3
Tasmania JackJumpers 4 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 6 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 4

Finals

The 2022 NBL Finals were played in April and May 2022, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final series and a best-of-five Grand Final series. 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.[20][21]

Playoff bracket

Semifinals Grand Final
            
1 Melbourne United 74 72 73
4 Tasmania JackJumpers 63 79 76
3 Sydney Kings 95 90 97 X X
4 Tasmania JackJumpers 78 86 88 X X
2 Illawarra Hawks 79 87 X
3 Sydney Kings 89 99 X


Awards

Pre-season

Regular season

Awards Night

Post Season

References

  1. ^ "NBL Season Schedule Puts Fans First | NBL". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  2. ^ "NBL regular season start date pushed back to December as league announces schedule | ESPN". ESPN.com.au. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  3. ^ "NBL Achieves History-Making Media Deal". NBL. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Network 10 Becomes NBL Free-to-Air Partner | NBL". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Hungry Jack's NBL Goes Global". National Basketball League | NBL.
  6. ^ "Tasmania will get its first NBL team since 1996". ABC News. 28 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Stars Headline Free Agency List". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  8. ^ Liam Santamaria (21 July 2021). "NBL22 Roster Watch". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  9. ^ Liam Santamaria (28 August 2021). "NBL22 Roster Watch". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  10. ^ "NBL To Blitz Tassie, Victoria and New South Wales". nbl.com.au. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Fans Get Sneak Peek in Blitz". nbl.com.au. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Breakers vs Hawks Blitz Game Cancelled". National Basketball League | NBL. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Illawarra vs Sydney Blitz Game Cancelled". National Basketball League | NBL. 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  14. ^ "NBL 2021-22: Matthew Dellavedova set to face Kings in first game as conference format unveiled". NEWS.com.au. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  15. ^ "NBL confirm November 18 tip-off". ESPN.com.au. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  16. ^ "NBL Schedule Update". NBL.com.au. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Remaining Schedule Released". NBL.com.au. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  18. ^ @melbunited (24 April 2022). "Regular season complete. On to the Finals". Retrieved 25 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  19. ^ @MelbUnited (24 April 2022). "Regular season complete. On to the Finals" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "Semi-Final Schedules Confirmed". NBL.com.au. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Grand Final Schedule". NBL.com.au. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  22. ^ @nbl (28 November 2021). "Champions Adelaide 36ers". Retrieved 7 March 2022 – via Instagram.
  23. ^ @adelaide36ers (29 November 2021). "Roy Borner Medal". Retrieved 7 March 2022 – via Instagram.
  24. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐕𝐏". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  25. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "BUL KU👌L". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  26. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "IT'S A L0⃣CK 🔒". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  27. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "⚡️HEA ILI!". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  28. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "PINDER SURPRISE, INDEED!". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  29. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "KAI is YOUR GUY!". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  30. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "A man that brought heart, passion, and a whole bunch of wins to the state of Tasmania". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  31. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "Congratulations to the @breakersnz, Simon Edwards on winning the NBL22 Executive of the Year award". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  32. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "Congrats, Vaughan!". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  33. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "The winner of the NBL22 Gametime by Kmart award, Jack McVeigh!". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  34. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "⭐️ ALL ⭐️ NBL ⭐️ FIRST ⭐️ TEAM ⭐️". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  35. ^ @nbl (27 April 2022). "⭐️ ALL ⭐️ NBL ⭐️ SECOND ⭐️ TEAM ⭐️". Retrieved 29 April 2022 – via Instagram.
  36. ^ @nbl (11 May 2022). "X, GAVE IT TO EM". Retrieved 14 May 2022 – via Instagram.
  37. ^ @nbl (11 May 2022). "THE KINGS GET THE ULTIMATE CROWN 👑". Retrieved 14 May 2022 – via Instagram.

External links

  • Official website