The National Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the NBL Cup, was a midseason tournament for the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) played during the 2020–21 season.[1] The tournament was discontinued after one season.[2]
On 21 December 2020, the Australian National Basketball League established the first NBL Cup to be held in Melbourne, Victoria, with all nine NBL teams taking part in the tournament from 20 February to 14 March. The majority of the 36 games were scheduled to be played at John Cain Arena (formerly Melbourne Arena), with a small amount scheduled for the State Basketball Centre in Wantirna South, Melbourne.[3] All nine NBL teams moved to Melbourne for the 2021 NBL Cup.
The 36 games counted towards the 2020–21 NBL season and, in a first for the league, would also decide the winner of the inaugural NBL Cup with total prize money of $300,000. Every team played each other once; the team with the most points at the end of the 36 games was awarded the NBL Cup and $150,000 in prize money. The runner-up received $100,000 and third place received $50,000.[4] The ladders included three points for a win, one point for each quarter won, and half a point for tied quarters.[5][6]
At the completion of the NBL Melbourne Hub, teams returned to regular home-and-away schedules.
The NBL Cup was not continued in the 2021–22 season.[2] In May 2023, the league raised the potential for a return of a cup tournament in the future.[8]
