2019–20 NBL season
The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. With the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix for this season, a total of nine teams contested in the 2019–20 season. The regular season was played between October 2019 and February 2020, followed by a post-season in February and March 2020.
Australian broadcast rights to the season were held by SBS Viceland in the first year of a two-year deal. All 126 games were available live and free on streaming platforms such as SBS On Demand. ESPN also broadcast 59 games including all games after 7.30pm AEDT. In New Zealand, Sky Sport were the official league broadcaster. The NBL also became the first Australian sports body to broadcast their matches online with them signing a two year deal with Twitch which included all pre-season games. The NBL also signed a deal with Facebook Watch, which broadcast 52 games across the season in the United States.
Teams
Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 season with the South East Melbourne Phoenix entering the league for the first time.Stadiums and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Adelaide 36ers | Adelaide | Adelaide Entertainment Centre | |
| Brisbane Bullets | Brisbane | Nissan Arena | |
| Cairns Taipans | Cairns | Cairns Convention Centre | |
| Illawarra Hawks | Wollongong | WIN Entertainment Centre | |
| Illawarra Hawks | Wollongong | AIS Arena | |
| Melbourne United | Melbourne | Melbourne Arena | |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | Spark Arena | |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | Eventfinda Stadium | |
| New Zealand Breakers | Auckland | ILT Stadium Southland | |
| Perth Wildcats | Perth | Perth Arena | |
| South East Melbourne Phoenix | Melbourne | Melbourne Arena | |
| South East Melbourne Phoenix | Melbourne | State Basketball Centre | |
| Sydney Kings | Sydney | Qudos Bank Arena |
Personnel and sponsorship
Pre-season
The pre-season games started on 19 June 2019 and ended on 16 October 2020. The pre-season featured games in China, the Philippines and the United States, and featured the NBLxNBA 2019 Tour in which five NBL teams played a total of seven games.Ladder
NBL Blitz ladder
Regular season
The regular season started on 3 October 2019 and finished on 16 February 2020.Ladder
Finals Series
The 2019–20 Finals was played in February and March 2020, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final series and a best-of-five Grand Final series. In the semi-finals, the higher seed hosted the first and third games. In the Grand Final, the higher seed hosts the first, third and fifth games.Despite the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple other sporting events being cancelled due to the pandemic, the Grand Final series started on 8 March 2020. Before Game 2 it was decided that the remaining games would be played without crowds, however Games 4 and 5 were later cancelled. The Perth Wildcats were named champions of the season, after they built a 2–1 lead in the series before it was cancelled.
Playoff Bracket
Awards
Pre-season
- Most Valuable Player : John Roberson
- 3 Point Shootout: David Barlow
- Dunk Contest: Terry Armstrong
Regular Season
Player of the Week
Awards Night
- Most Valuable Player : Bryce Cotton
- Rookie of the Year: LaMelo Ball
- Best Defensive Player: D. J. Newbill
- Best Sixth Man: Jason Cadee
- Most Improved Player: Will Magnay
- Fans MVP: Scott Machado
- Coach of the Year : Mike Kelly
- Referee of the Year: Vaughan Mayberry
- GameTime by Kmart: Dane Pineau
- All-NBL First Team:
- * Scott Machado
- * Bryce Cotton
- * Lamar Patterson
- * Jae'Sean Tate
- * Nick Kay
- All-NBL Second Team:
- * Casper Ware
- * D. J. Newbill
- * Scotty Hopson
- * Cameron Oliver
- * Andrew Bogut
Post Season
- Semi-Finals MVP: Nick Kay, Jae'Sean Tate
- Grand Final Series MVP : Bryce Cotton