Melbourne Hub announced to tip off Feb 20

The NBL and the Victorian Government today announced that 36 games will be played in Melbourne as part of a month-long 'Melbourne Hub' starting on February 20.

The 36 games will count towards the 2020-21 Hungry Jack’s NBL Season and, in a first for the league, will also decide the winner of the inaugural NBL Cup with total prize money of $300,000 up for grabs.

At the completion of the NBL Melbourne Hub, clubs will return to their respective home venues and complete the remainder of the NBL home and away season.

“As we have seen in recent days the current climate we are living in continues to change and present challenges, so we understand the need for the hub; we look forward to competing for the Cup”, Kings CEO Chris Pongrass said.

“From a team perspective, it’s a month-long stint of road games before we are back playing in front of our loyal home fans and members at Qudos Bank Arena”. 

“We appreciate the sacrifices our playing group and coaches are making to move away from home, and we know that all of our Sydney fans will continue to do a great job supporting the team while they are in the hub”.

NBL Owner and Executive Chairman Larry Kestelman said: “I want to thank the Victorian Government for partnering with us to bring the Hungry Jack’s NBL to Melbourne for what will be the biggest ever event we have staged in one city.

“These games will form part of an expanded NBL Season and give fans a chance to watch all of the league’s stars in what will be a showcase of world class basketball featuring all nine NBL teams.

The 2020-21 Hungry Jack’s NBL season will commence on January 10 with the first 39 games to be played over 37 days in front of fans across Australia before all nine teams move to the Melbourne Hub to contest the NBL Cup.

The NBL’s intention, subject to COVID and scheduling issues, is for teams to host their customary 14 home games during the regular season, over and above the games played in the NBL Melbourne Hub.

The only planned exception will be the SKY Sport New Zealand Breakers, who will start their season in Australia and hopefully return to NZ as soon as borders allow for home and away games.

All 36 games played in the NBL Melbourne Hub will count towards the teams’ overall season record in accordance with standard ladder methodology. In addition, teams will compete for the NBL Cup, with three points awarded for a win and an extra point awarded for each quarter won across the 36 games held.

Every team will play each other once and the team with the most points at the end of the 36 games will be awarded the NBL Cup and $150,000 in prize money. If teams finish equal on points, then the team with the most wins will be declared the winner. The runner-up will receive $100,000 and third place $50,000.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said each team would be scheduled to play eight extra games during the regular season than they would normally.

“Playing these extra games in Victoria will provide us with valuable time for restrictions on crowd numbers to continue to be eased around the country, hopefully allowing more fans to see their teams play at home. It also enables us to accumulate more games in an accelerated format should any unexpected issues arise later in the season,” he said.

The NBL will release the schedule for the NBL Cup and details about how to buy tickets soon. All games will be broadcast live on SBS, ESPN and Sky Sport (NZ).