| Prevseason: | 2019–20 |
| Nextseason: | 2021–22 BNXT |
| Dutch Basketball League | |
| Season: | 2020–21 |
| Champions: | ZZ Leiden 4th title |
| Runners Up: | Heroes Den Bosch |
| Teams: | 12 |
| Dates: | 3 October 2020 – 27 May 2021 |
| Mvp: | Emmanuel Nzekwesi (Leiden) |
| Mvp Link: | DBL MVP |
| Mvp N: | NED |
| Playoffs Mvp Link: | DBL Playoffs MVP |
| Playoffs Mvp N: | NED |
| Ppg: | 21.7 |
| Ppg N: | NED |
| Rpg: | 10.3 |
| Rpg N: | USA |
| Apg: | 9.7 |
| Apg N: | USA |
| Average Attendance: | 0 (all games played behind closed doors) |
The 2020–21 Dutch Basketball League (DBL) was the 61st season of the Dutch Basketball League, the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands. The season started on 3 October 2020 and ended on 27 May 2021.
It was the first season after the 2019–20 season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league expanded to 12 teams with the addition of Yoast United, Almere Sailors and The Hague Royals. This marked the highest number of teams since the 2007–08 season. ZZ Leiden won its fourth national title after defeating Heroes Den Bosch in the Finals.
On 15 October 2020, the season was suspended for at least four weeks due to government regulations regarding the pandemic.[1] On 19 December 2020, it was announced the competition would restart in January 2021 with a new format.[2]
After falling sponsorship revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DBL lowered the minimum budget for teams from €300,000 to €150,000 .[3]
On 1 May 2020, Apollo Amsterdam announced it will not play in the DBL season because of uncertainty due to the pandemic. The DBL announced the remaining eight teams will return for the 2020–21 season.[4] On 5 August, it was announced Basketball Community Gelderland has obtained a licence.[5] On 20 August, it was announced Apollo Amsterdam has obtained a license. On 27 August, the DBL announced the entrance of The Hague Royals and Almere Sailors.[6] BC Gelderland later revealed Yoast United as their new club name.[7]
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Club | Location | Venue | Capacity | ||
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| Sporthal Boshoven | align=center | ||||
| Sporthal Sportlaan | align=center | ||||
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| De Schaapskooi | align=center | ||||
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As is common practice in European basketball, the following clubs carried the name of their sponsor this season:
| Club | Sponsored name | Until | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeeuw & Zeeuw Feyenoord | 2021[8] | ||
| Yoast United | 2023 |
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Main sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Almere Sailors | (interim) | Erreà | Flevo Makelaardij | |
| Apollo Amsterdam | Nike | Paul Meijering Steel | ||
| Aris Leeuwarden |  | Jako | Friezon | |
| BAL |  | Spalding | Enerparking | |
| Den Helder Suns | Burned | – | ||
| Donar |  (interim) | Macron | Amysoft | |
| Feyenoord | Adidas | Zeeuw & Zeeuw | ||
| Heroes Den Bosch | | Macron | Data City | |
| Landstede Hammers | Acerbis | Landstede | ||
| The Hague Royals | Burned | |||
| Yoast United | Matthew Otten | Jako | Yoast SEO | |
| ZZ Leiden | Peak | Zorg en Zekerheid | ||
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZZ Leiden | Rolf Franke | End of contract | 30 March 2020[9] | Pre-season | Geert Hammink | 17 May 2020[10] | |
| Donar | Erik Braal | End of contract | 14 April 2020[11] | Ivan Rudež | 17 April 2020[12] | ||
| Apollo Amsterdam | Patrick Faijdherbe | End of contract | 31 March 2020 | Laki Lakner | 1 May 2020[13] | ||
| Yoast United | None | Matthew Otten | 9 August 2020[14] | ||||
| The Hague Royals | None | Bert Samson | 20 June 2020[15] | ||||
| Almere Sailors | None | Eric Kropf | 13 August 2020[16] | ||||
| Apollo Amsterdam | Laki Lakner | Resigned | 24 January 2021[17] | 11th (0–3) | Erwin van der Hart | 27 January 2021[18] | |
| Almere Sailors | Eric Kropf | Fired | 10 March 2021 | 12th (1–9) | Gregory Tjin-A-Koeng | 10 March 2021[19] | |
| Donar | Ivan Rudež | Fired | 12 April 2021 | 3rd | Pete Miller | 12 April 2021[20] |
Teams carry the results from the regular season with them and play each other twice. All six teams are already qualified for the play-offs.
Teams carry the results from the regular season with them and play each other twice. The two highest ranked teams qualify for the playoffs as seventh and eight seed.
The format of the playoffs was changed due to the compressed schedule. Quarterfinals were played as two-legged series, the semifinals as a best-of-three series and the finals as a best-of-five series.
The quarterfinals were played in a two-legged format and were played on 8 May and 11 May 2021.|}
The semifinals were played in a best of three series and were played on 15 May, 18 May and 20 May.|}
ZZ Leiden reached the finals for the first time since 3 years, Heroes Den Bosch for the first time since 6 years. It is the sixth time the teams met each other in the finals, the last time being in 2012.
|}
| Category | Player | Team(s) | Statistic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | ZZ Leiden | 20.3 | ||
| Rebounds per game | BAL | 10.1 | ||
| Assists per game | Yoast United | 9.3 | ||
| Steals per game | Den Helder Suns | 2.6 | ||
| Blocks per game | Bart Bijnsdorp | The Hague Royals | 1.4 | |
| Turnovers per game | The Hague Royals | 4.8 | ||
| Minutes per game | Juan Davis | Feyenoord | 33.3 | |
| FG% |  Andrés Ibargüen | Yoast United | 69.1% |
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Yoast United | 43 | |
| Rebounds | Quatarrius Wilson (2×) | BAL | 18 |
| The Hague Royals | |||
| Assists | The Hague Royals | 16 | |
| Steals | Feyenoord | 8 | |
| Blocks | Four players | Four player | 4 |
| Three pointers | Yoast United | 9 | |
BAL, winners of the DBL Cup, refused to apply for the FIBA Europe Cup.[22]
| Team | Competition | Progress |
|---|---|---|
| Champions League | First qualifying round | |
| FIBA Europe Cup | Regular season | |
| FIBA Europe Cup | Regular season | |