2021 NBL Finals

2021 NBL Finals

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	Illawarra Hawks S.E. Melbourne Phoenix
Tournament statistics
Matches played	9
Attendance	48,420 (5,380 per match)
Scoring leader(s)	Chris Goulding (Melbourne)
MVP	Jock Landale (Melbourne)
←  2020 2022  →

The 2021 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 2020–21 NBL season and the conclusion of the season.

Format

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 v t e
	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 v t e
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

1. Melbourne United
2. Perth Wildcats
3. Illawarra Hawks
4. South East Melbourne Phoenix

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

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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

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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

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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

Regular season series

Perth won 3–1 in the regular season series
7 March 2021 boxscore Illawarra Hawks 70, Perth Wildcats 87 John Cain Arena, Melbourne 26 March 2021 boxscore Perth Wildcats 81, Illawarra Hawks 70 RAC Arena, Perth 16 April 2021 boxscore Perth Wildcats 83, Illawarra Hawks 69 RAC Arena, Perth 1 June 2021 boxscore Illawarra Hawks 81, Perth Wildcats 79 WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

(1) Melbourne United vs. (4) South East Melbourne Phoenix

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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

{{{teamA}}} v {{{teamB}}}

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

{{{teamA}}} v {{{teamB}}}

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

Regular season series

Melbourne won 3–2 in the regular season series

31 January 2021 boxscore Melbourne United 96, South East Melbourne Phoenix 90 Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo 10 March 2021 boxscore South East Melbourne Phoenix 97, Melbourne United 92 (OT) John Cain Arena, Melbourne 27 March 2021 boxscore South East Melbourne Phoenix 60, Melbourne United 80 John Cain Arena, Melbourne 8 May 2021 boxscore South East Melbourne Phoenix 82, Melbourne United 93 John Cain Arena, Melbourne 16 May 2021 boxscore Melbourne United 83, South East Melbourne Phoenix 94 John Cain Arena, Melbourne

Grand Final series

(1) Melbourne United vs. (2) Perth Wildcats

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18 June 2021	Perth Wildcats	70–73 (Series: Melbourne leads series, 1–0)	Melbourne United	RAC Arena, Perth
18:30	Scoring by quarter:19–18, 16–13, 18–29, 17–13
ESPN, SBS Viceland	Pts: Blanchfield 27 Rebs: Blanchfield, Mooney 7 Asts: Mooney 4	boxscore report	Pts: Goulding 23 Rebs: McCarron 11 Asts: McCarron 6	Attendance: 9,951 Referees: Chris Reid, Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen

{{{teamA}}} v {{{teamB}}}

20 June 2021	Perth Wildcats	74–83 (Series: Melbourne leads series, 2–0)	Melbourne United	RAC Arena, Perth
15:00	Scoring by quarter:28–18, 14–24, 15–20, 17–21
ESPN, SBS Viceland	Pts: Mooney 17 Rebs: Mooney 9 Asts: Mooney, Shervill 3	boxscore report	Pts: Goulding 21 Rebs: Landale 17 Asts: McCarron 7	Attendance: 11,097 Referees: Vaughan Mayberry, Chris Reid, Michael Aylen

{{{teamA}}} v {{{teamB}}}

25 June 2021	Melbourne United	81–76 (Series: Melbourne wins series and the Championship, 3–0)	Perth Wildcats	John Cain Arena, Melbourne
19:30	Scoring by quarter:30–19, 12–18, 16–13, 23–24
ESPN, SBS Viceland	Pts: Landale 15 Rebs: Landale 9 Asts: McCarron 5	boxscore report	Pts: Mooney, White 14 Rebs: Mooney 13 Asts: Norton 3	Attendance: 4,507 Referees: Chris Reid, Vaughan Mayberry, Michael Aylen

Regular season series

Melbourne won 3–2 in the regular season series

7 February 2021 boxscore Melbourne United 75, Perth Wildcats 71 Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo 20 February 2021 boxscore Melbourne United 85, Perth Wildcats 89 John Cain Arena, Melbourne 5 May 2021 boxscore Melbourne United 69, Perth Wildcats 82 John Cain Arena, Melbourne 13 May 2021 boxscore Perth Wildcats 91, Melbourne United 99 RAC Arena, Perth 4 June 2021 boxscore Perth Wildcats 64, Melbourne United 78 RAC Arena, Perth

See also

• 2020–21 NBL season

References

1. "Schedule for Hungry Jack's NBL Finals | NBL". nbl.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
2. "Time to Unite: Melbourne United clinch finals berth". MelbourneUTD.com.au. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
3. "Wildcats clinch 35th consecutive NBL Finals berth". Wildcats.com.au. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
4. "Hawks take down Wildcats to surge into playoffs". Hawks.com.au. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
5. "Phoenix Finish Regular Season in Fourth Place". SEMPhoenix.com.au. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.