The 2020 NBL season (officially known as the 2020 NBL Showdown) 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 (

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as ...

, Hawke's Bay Hawks and Southland Sharks) 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 Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

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 The Trusts Arena is an indoor arena located in Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a multi-purpose stadium that primarily holds sports events and music concerts. The Arena was opened by then Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark on 11 ...

Team information

Summary

Regular season standings

Finals

Tuesday 28 July
*Elimination Final 1 – 6th vs 7th *Qualifying Final – 1st vs 2nd Wednesday 29 July
*Elimination Final 2 – 3rd vs Winner EF1 *Elimination Final 3 – 4th vs 5th Thursday 30 July
*Semi Final 1 – Winner QF vs Lowest EF Winner *Semi Final 2 – Loser QF vs Highest EF Winner Saturday 1 August
*Grand Final – Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2

Awards

Statistics leaders

''Stats as of the end of the regular season''

Regular season

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

: Tom Vodanovich (Manawatu Jets) * Defensive Player of the Year: Jarrod Kenny (Otago Nuggets) and Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa (Auckland Huskies) * Youth Player of the Year: Taane Samuel (Manawatu Jets) * Coach of the Year: Brent Matehaere (Otago Nuggets) * All-Star Five: ** G: Derone Raukawa (Taranaki Mountainairs) ** G: Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa (Auckland Huskies) ** F: Jordan Ngatai (Otago Nuggets) ** F: Marcel Jones (Taranaki Mountainairs) ** C: Tom Vodanovich (Manawatu Jets)

Finals

* Grand Final MVP: Jordan Hunt (Otago Nuggets)

References

External links

NBL Draft player pool

NBL Draft recap and rosters

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