2020–21 National Basketball League (England) season
# 2020–21 National Basketball League (England) season

The 2020–21 NBL season was the 49th edition of the English Men's National Basketball League.

It was announced that there would be no promotion or relegation following the 2020–21 season, due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NBL2 and NBL3 seasons were indefinitely suspended, later cancelled, and the NBL1 season structure was revised into regionalised schedules, due to the ongoing situation presented by the pandemic.

## NBL Division 1

### Team changes

Promoted from NBL Division 2

* Team Newcastle
* Essex Rebels

Relegated to NBL Division 2

* Liverpool
* Westminster Warriors

Team changes

* Essex & Herts Leopards to Oaklands Wolves
* Barking Abbey to BA London Lions

### Teams

| Club | Location | Last Season |
| - | - | - |
| BA London Lions | London (Barking) | 12th |
| Bradford Dragons | Bradford | 8th |
| Derby Trailblazers | Derby | 3rd |
| Essex Rebels | Colchester | D2 Sou, 1st (promoted) |
| Hemel Storm | Hemel Hempstead | 4th |
| Leicester Warriors | Leicester | 9th |
| Loughborough Riders | Loughborough | 6th |
| Nottingham Hoods | Nottingham | 10th |
| Oaklands Wolves | St Albans | 11th |
| Reading Rockets | Reading | 7th |
| Solent Kestrels | Southampton | 1st |
| Team Newcastle | Newcastle upon Tyne | D2 Nor, 1st (promoted) |
| Thames Valley Cavaliers | London (Uxbridge) | 2nd |
| Worthing Thunder | Worthing | 5th |

### Regular season

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Solent Kestrels (C) | 19 | 17 | 2 | 1718 | 1201 | +517 | 34 | Qualification to Playoffs Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Thames Valley Cavaliers | 19 | 17 | 2 | 1761 | 1497 | +264 | 34 | Qualification to Playoffs Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Hemel Storm | 19 | 14 | 5 | 1735 | 1574 | +161 | 28 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 4 | Derby Trailblazers | 19 | 14 | 5 | 1645 | 1496 | +149 | 28 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 5 | Team Newcastle | 19 | 13 | 6 | 1601 | 1542 | +59 | 26 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 6 | Essex Rebels | 19 | 9 | 10 | 1625 | 1705 | −80 | 18 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 7 | Worthing Thunder | 19 | 9 | 10 | 1554 | 1637 | −83 | 18 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 8 | Loughborough Riders | 19 | 8 | 11 | 1577 | 1560 | +17 | 16 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 9 | Reading Rockets | 19 | 7 | 12 | 1682 | 1717 | −35 | 14 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 10 | BA London Lions | 19 | 7 | 12 | 1484 | 1595 | −111 | 14 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 11 | Bradford Dragons | 19 | 7 | 12 | 1501 | 1604 | −103 | 14 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 12 | Leicester Warriors | 19 | 5 | 14 | 1535 | 1673 | −138 | 10 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 13 | Oaklands Wolves | 19 | 4 | 15 | 1513 | 1795 | −282 | 8 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |
| 14 | Nottingham Hoods | 19 | 2 | 17 | 1285 | 1620 | −335 | 4 | Qualification to Playoffs First Round |

### Playoffs

**First round**

* 24 April 2021

| Hemel Storm | 101–68 | Nottingham Hoods |
| - | - | - |

* 25 April 2021

| Derby Trailblazers | 105–77 | Oaklands Wolves |
| - | - | - |

* 24 April 2021

| Team Newcastle | 87–77 | Leicester Warriors |
| - | - | - |

* 25 April 2021

| Essex Rebels | 73–74 | Bradford Dragons |
| - | - | - |

* 25 April 2021

| Worthing Thunder | 89–83 | BA London Lions |
| - | - | - |

* 24 April 2021

| Loughborough Riders | 75–68 | Reading Rockets |
| - | - | - |

**Quarter-finals**

* 1 May 2021

| Solent Kestrels | 78–61 | Loughborough Riders |
| - | - | - |

* 1 May 2021

| Thames Valley Cavaliers | 89–94 | Worthing Thunder |
| - | - | - |

* 1 May 2021

| Hemel Storm | 81–69 | Bradford Dragons |
| - | - | - |

* 2 May 2021

| Derby Trailblazers | 82–84 | Team Newcastle |
| - | - | - |

**Semi-finals**

* 8 May 2021

| Solent Kestrels | 113–69 | Team Newcastle |
| - | - | - |

* 8 May 2021

| Hemel Storm | 95–82 | Worthing Thunder |
| - | - | - |

**Final**

* 15 May 2021 18:00
* Box score Report

| Solent Kestrels | 93–62 | Hemel Storm |
| - | - | - |
| Scoring by quarter: 28–16, 20–20, 25–16, 20–10 |||
| Pts: I Smith 37 Rebs: I Smith 11 Asts: I Smith 9 | | Pts: G Poleon 17 Rebs: T Oyefusi 9 Asts: B Adeluola 6 |

* National Basketball Centre, Manchester

### Awards

| Award | Name | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Player of the Year | Greg Poleon | Hemel Storm |
| Team of the Year | Greg Poleon | Hemel Storm |
| Team of the Year | Hakeem Sylla | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| Team of the Year | Taylor Johnson | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| Team of the Year | Ian Smith | Solent Kestrels |
| Team of the Year | Travis Charles | Solent Kestrels |
| British Team of the Year | Kyle Jimenez | Loughborough Riders |
| British Team of the Year | Orlan Jackman | Solent Kestrels |
| British Team of the Year | Andre Arissol | Solent Kestrels |
| British Team of the Year | Morakinyo Williams | Leicester Warriors |
| British Team of the Year | Blayne Freckleton | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| Coach of the Year | Matt Guymon | Solent Kestrels |
| U-19 Player of the Year | Blake Bowman | Derby Trailblazers |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Andre Arissol | Solent Kestrels |

### Statistics

Player of the Week Awards

| Week | Player | Team | Week | Player | Team | Week | Player | Team |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ian Smith | Solent Kestrels | 15 | Travis Charles | Solent Kestrels | 28 | Mike Williams | Hemel Storm |
| 2 | Hakeem Sylla | Thames Valley Cavaliers | 16 | Orlan Jackman | Solent Kestrels |
| 3 | Blake Bowman | Derby Trailblazers | 17 | Taylor Johnson | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| 4 | Travis Charles | Solent Kestrels | 18 | Greg Poleon | Hemel Storm |
| 5 | Mike Williams | Hemel Storm | 19 | Hakeem Sylla | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| 6 | Zaire Taylor | Worthing Thunder | 20 | Greg Poleon | Hemel Storm |
| 7 | Kyle Jimenez | Loughborough Riders | 21 | O'Showen Williams | Reading Rockets |
| 8 | Seth Hawley | Thames Valley Cavaliers | 22 | Taylor Johnson | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| 9 | David Moya | Team Newcastle | 23 | Howard Crawford | Worthing Thunder |
| 11 | Max Richardson | Worthing Thunder | 24 | Ian Smith | Solent Kestrels |
| 12 | Greg Poleon | Hemel Storm | 25 | Brandon Federici | Team Newcastle |
| 13 | Hakeem Sylla | Thames Valley Cavaliers | 26 | Max Richardson | Worthing Thunder |
| 14 | Ethan Price | Essex Rebels | 27 | Tom Ward | Worthing Thunder |
| Rank | Player | Club | PTS |
| 1 | Greg Poleon | Hemel Storm | 426 |
| 2 | Ronald Blain | Team Newcastle | 421 |
| 3 | O'Showen Williams | Reading Rockets | 415 |
| 4 | Mike Williams | Hemel Storm | 404 |
| 5 | Jordan Santiago | Oaklands Wolves | 401 |
| 6 | Hakeem Sylla | Thames Valley Cavaliers | 377 |
| 7 | Taylor Johnson | Thames Valley Cavaliers | 371 |
| 8 | Victor Olarerin | Nottingham Hoods | 341 |
| 9 | Howard Crawford | Worthing Thunder | 333 |
| 10 | Jonas Dieterich | Loughborough Riders | 322 |
| Rank | Player | Club | REB |
| 1 | Hakeem Sylla | Thames Valley Cavaliers | 233 |
| 2 | Greg Poleon | Hemel Storm | 204 |
| 3 | Oliver Stanley | Derby Trailblazers | 183 |
| 4 | Howard Crawford | Worthing Thunder | 163 |
| 5 | Max Richardson | Worthing Thunder | 160 |
| 6 | Ronald Blain | Team Newcastle | 159 |
| 7 | Rihards Sulcs | Bradford Dragons | 156 |
| 8 | Kyle Jimenez | Loughborough Riders | 148 |
| 9 | Leome Francis | Reading Rockets | 140 |
| 10 | Great Osobor | Bradford Dragons | 140 |
| Rank | Player | Club | AST |
| 1 | Kyle Jimenez | Loughborough Riders | 196 |
| 2 | David Moya | Team Newcastle | 110 |
| 3 | Ian Smith | Solent Kestrels | 109 |
| 4 | Charlie Brown | Derby Trailblazers | 101 |
| 5 | Blayne Freckleton | Thames Valley Cavaliers | 99 |
| 6 | Kayne King | Leicester Warriors | 96 |
| 7 | Tom Ward | Worthing Thunder | 90 |
| 8 | O'Showen Williams | Reading Rockets | 88 |
| 9 | Zaire Taylor | Worthing Thunder | 87 |
| 10 | Reiss Pinnock | Reading Rockets | 84 |

## L Lynch Trophy

The 2020–21 L Lynch Trophy was the inaugural edition of the competition, organised by participating clubs to mark the return to play for men's basketball. 16 teams, the 14 NBL Division 1 sides and the Myerscough and Charnwood academy sides, were split into four regional groups. Each group was intended to play all games within one "bubble" venue. The top 2 sides from each group would advance to the quarter-finals, therein playing a knockout format to determine the overall winners.

### Group stage

Group 1, Myerscough

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Derby Trailblazers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 263 | 224 | +39 | 6 | Qualification to quarter finals |
| 2 | Bradford Dragons | 3 | 2 | 1 | 239 | 214 | +25 | 4 | Qualification to quarter finals |
| 3 | Myerscough College | 3 | 1 | 2 | 233 | 196 | +37 | 2 | |
| 4 | Team Newcastle | 3 | 0 | 3 | 193 | 294 | −101 | 0 | |

* 10 Oct 2020

| Bradford Dragons | 84–59 | Team Newcastle |
| - | - | - |

* 17 Oct 2020

| Bradford Dragons | 74–71 | Myerscough College |
| - | - | - |

* 8 Nov 2020

| Team Newcastle | 81–110 | Derby Trailblazers |
| - | - | - |

* 14 Nov 2020

| Bradford Dragons | 81–84 | Derby Trailblazers |
| - | - | - |

* 5 Dec 2020

| Team Newcastle | 53–100 | Myerscough College |
| - | - | - |

* 7 Dec 2020

| Derby Trailblazers | 69–62 | Myerscough College |
| - | - | - |

Group 2, Oaklands

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Thames Valley Cavaliers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 273 | 228 | +45 | 6 | Qualification to quarter finals |
| 2 | Hemel Storm | 3 | 2 | 1 | 273 | 236 | +37 | 4 | Qualification to quarter finals |
| 3 | Reading Rockets | 2 | 0 | 2 | 141 | 168 | −27 | 0 | |
| 4 | Oaklands Wolves | 2 | 0 | 2 | 154 | 209 | −55 | 0 | |

* 10 Oct 2020

| Reading Rockets | 70–83 | Hemel Storm |
| - | - | - |

* 10 Oct 2020

| Oaklands Wolves | 74–102 | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| - | - | - |

* 17 Oct 2020

| Reading Rockets | 71–85 | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| - | - | - |

* 17 Oct 2020

| Oaklands Wolves | 80–107 | Hemel Storm |
| - | - | - |

* 24 Oct 2020

| Hemel Storm | 83–86 | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| - | - | - |
| Reading Rockets | vs. | Oaklands Wolves |

Group 3, Loughborough

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Loughborough Riders | 3 | 3 | 0 | 260 | 217 | +43 | 6 | Qualification to quarter finals |
| 2 | Nottingham Hoods | 3 | 2 | 1 | 239 | 243 | −4 | 4 | Qualification to quarter finals |
| 3 | Charnwood College | 3 | 1 | 2 | 234 | 250 | −16 | 2 | |
| 4 | Leicester Warriors | 3 | 0 | 3 | 235 | 258 | −23 | 0 | |

* 17 Oct 2020

| Leicester Warriors | 88–92 | Nottingham Hoods |
| - | - | - |

* 1 Nov 2020

| Loughborough Riders | 92–81 | Charnwood College |
| - | - | - |

* 10 Nov 2020

| Loughborough Riders | 83–80 | Leicester Warriors |
| - | - | - |

* 15 Nov 2020

| Charnwood College | 83–67 | Leicester Warriors |
| - | - | - |

* 24 Nov 2020

| Loughborough Riders | 85–56 | Nottingham Hoods |
| - | - | - |

* 29 Nov 2020

| Charnwood College | 70–91 | Nottingham Hoods |
| - | - | - |

Group 4, Solent

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Solent Kestrels | 3 | 3 | 0 | 305 | 208 | +97 | 6 | Qualification to quarter finals |
| 2 | Worthing Thunder | 3 | 2 | 1 | 243 | 255 | −12 | 4 | Qualification to quarter finals |
| 3 | BA London Lions | 3 | 1 | 2 | 245 | 249 | −4 | 2 | |
| 4 | Essex Rebels | 3 | 0 | 3 | 213 | 294 | −81 | 0 | |

* 11 Oct 2020

| Solent Kestrels | 92–78 | BA London Lions |
| - | - | - |

* 11 Oct 2020

| Worthing Thunder | 91–78 | Essex Rebels |
| - | - | - |

* 18 Oct 2020

| Solent Kestrels | 117–61 | Essex Rebels |
| - | - | - |

* 25 Oct 2020

| Solent Kestrels | 96–69 | Worthing Thunder |
| - | - | - |

* 25 Oct 2020

| BA London Lions | 86–74 | Essex Rebels |
| - | - | - |

* 22 Nov 2020

| BA London Lions | 81–83 | Worthing Thunder |
| - | - | - |

### Quarter-finals

* 10 Jan 2021

| Derby Trailblazers | 73–81 | Worthing Thunder |
| - | - | - |

* 17 Jan 2021

| Solent Kestrels | 88–68 | Hemel Storm |
| - | - | - |

* 24 Jan 2021

| Loughborough Riders | 91–68 | Bradford Dragons |
| - | - | - |

* 13 Feb 2021

| Thames Valley Cavaliers | 105–63 | Nottingham Hoods |
| - | - | - |

### Semi-finals

* 7 Mar 2021

| Solent Kestrels | 82–80 | Worthing Thunder |
| - | - | - |

* 7 Mar 2021

| Thames Valley Cavaliers | 86–79 | Loughborough Riders |
| - | - | - |

### Final

* 20 Mar 2021 18:00

| Solent Kestrels | 87–78 | Thames Valley Cavaliers |
| - | - | - |
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 21–21, 23–12, 18–21 |||
| Pts: A Arissol (24) Rebs: O Jackman (12) Asts: I Smith (7) | | Pts: T Johnson (21) Rebs: H Sylla (16) Asts: B Freckleton (5) |

* Morningside Arena, Leicester
