2020 NBL Finals explained

NBL Finals
Year:2020
Season:2019–20
Dates:28 February – 15 March 2020
Num Teams:4
Semifinal1:Cairns Taipans
Semifinal2:Melbourne United
Prev Season:2019
Next Season:2021
Defending Champions:Perth Wildcats
Winners:Perth Wildcats
Count:10
Second:Sydney Kings
Matches:9
Award Title:MVP
Award:Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
Stat Leader Title:Scoring leader(s)
Stat Leader Player:Bryce Cotton

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.

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.[3]

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

TeamDate of
qualification
Round of
qualification
Finals
appearance
Previous
appearance
Previous best
performance
Sydney Kings24 January 20201715th2019Champions (2003, 2004, 2005)
Perth Wildcats1 February 20201834th2019Champions (1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019)
Cairns Taipans8 February 2020198th2017Runners-up (2011, 2015)
Melbourne United16 February 20202025th2019Champions (1993, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2018)

Ladder

Seedings

  1. Sydney Kings
  2. Perth Wildcats
  3. Cairns Taipans
  4. Melbourne United

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 series

(2) Perth Wildcats vs. (3) Cairns Taipans

Regular season series

Cairns won 2–1 in the regular season series:

(1) Sydney Kings vs. (4) Melbourne United

Regular season series

Sydney won 3–1 in the regular season series:

Grand Final series

(1) Sydney Kings vs. (2) Perth Wildcats

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.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Ward. Roy. Bogut hits out at NBL decision to award title to Perth. 19 March 2020. Brisbane Times. 19 March 2020.
  2. Web site: Schedule for Hungry Jack's NBL Finals Presented by MG NBL. nbl.com.au. en. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200222112030/https://nbl.com.au/news/schedule-for-hungry-jacks-nbl-finals-presented-by-mg . 22 February 2020 . 2020-02-22.
  3. News: Roy . Ward . NBL grand final series to be completed behind closed doors . The Sydney Morning Herald . 13 March 2020 . 13 March 2020 .
  4. Web site: Uluc . Olgun . NBL finals 2020: Sydney Kings vs Perth Wildcats inside story, Paul Smith, Andrew Bogut, Larry Kestelman, Grand Final . Fox Sports . 24 October 2020 . 21 March 2020.
  5. Web site: Remaining NBL Grand Final Series Games Cancelled NBL . nbl.com.au . NBL . 17 March 2020 . en.
  6. Web site: Perth Wildcats Crowned NBL20 Champions NBL . nbl.com.au . en . 19 March 2020 . 19 March 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200319042337/https://nbl.com.au/news/perth-wildcats-crowned-nbl20-champions . dead .