The 2021 NBL1 West season was the inaugural season of the NBL1 West following the rebrand of the State Basketball League (SBL) under the NBL1 banner. It marked the 32nd season in league history after the 2020 State Basketball League season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The regular season began on Friday 16 April and ended on Saturday 14 August. The finals began on Friday 20 August and concluded with the women's grand final on Friday 3 September and the men's grand final on Saturday 4 September.
The 2021 NBL1 season was scheduled to include a National Finals in Melbourne featuring the West champions but the event was cancelled due to the uncertainty surrounding border control restrictions across Australia.[1]
Regular season
In October 2020, Basketball Western Australia and the National Basketball League (NBL) announced a new partnership to bring NBL1 to Western Australia in 2021, with NBL1 replacing the SBL. The SBL was officially renamed NBL1 West and became the west conference of NBL1.[2][3][4]
Seventeen rounds of competition was scheduled, with the regular season beginning on Friday 16 April. Round 2, Round 3 and Round 12 were not played (with games later rescheduled where possible) due to COVID-19 restrictions in Perth.[5][6][7] Themed rounds included Pink Round (4), Mental Health Round (10) and Indigenous Round (13).[8][9][10]
Updated to match(es) played on 14 August 2021. Source: NBL1 West Due to COVID-related cancellations, some men's games were not able to be rescheduled and thus some teams played less games than others. The ladder was subsequently ranked on win percentage.
Updated to match(es) played on 14 August 2021. Source: NBL1 West
Finals
The finals began on Friday 20 August and consisted of four rounds.[11][12] The finals concluded with the women's grand final on Friday 3 September and the men's grand final on Saturday 4 September.
^ abGolden Hands Award winner is determined by the following equation: (Total Assists + Total Steals – Total Turnovers) / Games Played = Golden Hands Award Rating.[51]