The 2021 NBL1 season was the second season of the

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia, consisting of NBL1 South, South, NBL1 North, North, NBL1 Central, Central, NBL1 West, West and NBL1 East, East Conferences with both men's and women's compet ...

after the 2020 season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. With

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and Central conferences introduced in 2020 alongside the South Conference, the NBL1 expanded further in 2021 with the inclusion of a West Conference. The 2021 season was the first to consist of multiple conferences and National participation, however the continued impact of the pandemic led to a disrupted and incomplete end to the season.

Background

The NBL1 had expanded in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

with

and Central conferences introduced alongside the South Conference. Following a cancelled season due to the

, the NBL1 returned in 2021 and expanded to four conferences after partnering with Basketball Western Australia to make the State Basketball League (SBL) the new West Conference.

Season

The season began on 10 April for the Central Conference, 16 April for the West Conference, 17 April for the South Conference and 14 May for the North Conference. The NBL1 National Finals were originally scheduled for Friday 10 September to Sunday 12 September in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. All four conferences had disrupted seasons due to the

and government restrictions. On 29 July, the NBL1 National Finals were pushed back one week to 17–19 September to allow extra time for the conferences to complete their seasons. However, on 13 August, the finals weekend was cancelled due to the uncertainty surrounding border control restrictions across Australia.

South

On 1 September, the NBL1 South season was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic and restrictions in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. With a combined 154 men's and women's games that could not be completed, it was decided to abandon the season with no champions and no individual awards. At the time of abandonment, the

Knox Raiders Knox Raiders is a member club of the NBL1 South based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of Knox Basketball Incorporated (KBI), the major administrative basketball organisation in Melbourn ...

were on top of the women's ladder and the North-West Tasmania Thunder were on top of the men's ladder.

North

On 17 August, with many regular season games still unplayed, the NBL1 North announced they would immediately conclude the regular season and advance to the finals. The women's minor premiers were the Southern Districts Spartans with a 12–0 record while the men's minor premiers were the Logan Thunder with a 12–1 record.

Cayla George Cayla George (née Francis; born 1 May 1989) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the ...

of the Mackay Meteorettes was named women's MVP while Jeremy Kendle of the Logan Thunder was named men's MVP. The women's grand final series saw the Logan Thunder defeat the Southern Districts Spartans 2–0, with 75–71 in game one and 63–61 in game two, while the men's grand final series saw the Mackay Meteors defeat the

Cairns Marlins The Cairns Marlins are an Australian basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Marlins compete in the men's NBL1 North league and play their home games at Early Settler Stadium. The team is closely affiliated with the Cairns Taipans and C ...

2–0, with 81–78 in game one and 86–83 in game two. Mikhaela Cann of the Logan Thunder was named women's grand final MVP while Jerron Jamerson of the Mackay Meteors was named men's grand final MVP.

Central

The NBL1 Central completed their full 18-round schedule, with all 10 teams in both the men's and women's competitions playing 18 games. The women's minor premiers were the Southern Tigers with a 16–2 record while the men's minor premiers were the Stuart Sabres with a 14–4 record. Teige Morrell of the Southern Tigers was named women's MVP while C. J. Turnage of the Norwood Flames was named men's MVP. The women's grand final saw the Southern Tigers defeat the North Adelaide Rockets 87–77 while the men's grand final saw the North Adelaide Rockets defeat the Norwood Flames 87–72. Teige Morrell of the Southern Tigers was named women's grand final MVP while

Sunday Dech Sunday Dech (born 1 January 1994) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He is a two-time NBL champion with the Perth Wildcats, having won in 201 ...

of the North Adelaide Rockets was named men's grand final MVP.

West

The NBL1 West saw the women's competition complete their season with each team playing 18 games, but due to multiple games being cancelled and not rescheduled, the men's competition had some teams fail to play all 22 games. The women's minor premiers were the

Willetton Tigers Willetton Tigers is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Willetton Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organ ...

with a 15–3 record while the men's minor premiers were the

Perry Lakes Hawks Perry Lakes Hawks is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Perry Lakes Basketball Association (PLBA), the major administrative basketball org ...

with an 18–4 record.

Alexandra Sharp Alexandra Jane Sharp (born 4 February 1997) is an Australian professional basketball player. Early life and career Sharp was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and attended Our Lady of Mercy College. Sharp attended the Australian Institute of Sport ...

of the Willetton Tigers was named women's MVP while Nic Pozoglou of the

Cockburn Cougars Cockburn Cougars is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Cockburn Basketball Association (CBA), the major administrative basketball organis ...

was named men's MVP. The women's grand final saw the Willetton Tigers defeat the

Joondalup Wolves Joondalup Wolves is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Wanneroo Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organis ...

65–54 while the men's grand final saw the Perry Lakes Hawks defeat the Rockingham Flames 92–82. Alexandra Sharp of the Willetton Tigers was named women's grand final MVP while

Andrew Ferguson Andrew Ferguson (born June 28, 1956) is an American journalist and author. Career Ferguson is currently a staff writer at ''The Atlantic''. Previously, he was senior editor of ''The Weekly Standard'' (defunct since December 2018), and a columni ...

of the Perry Lakes Hawks was named men's grand final MVP.

Champions summary

Women

Men

References

External links

"2021 NBL1 stats: Top performers"
at central.rookieme.com {{DEFAULTSORT:NBL1,2021

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

2020–21 in Australian basketball 2021–22 in Australian basketball Basketball events cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic