2020–21 Dutch Basketball League

The 2020–21 Dutch Basketball League (DBL) was the 61st season of the Dutch Basketball League, the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands. The season started on 3 October 2020 and ended on 27 May 2021.

Dutch Basketball League
Season2020–21
Dates3 October 2020 – 27 May 2021
Number of teams12
Regular season
Season MVPNetherlands Emmanuel Nzekwesi (Leiden)
Finals
ChampionsZZ Leiden
4th title
  Runners-upHeroes Den Bosch
Playoffs MVPNetherlands Worthy de Jong
Statistical leaders
Points Netherlands Emmanuel Nzekwesi 21.7
Rebounds United States Quatarrius Wilson 10.3
Assists United States Austin Luke 9.7
Records
Average attendance0
(all games played behind closed doors)

It was the first season after the 2019–20 season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league expanded to 12 teams with the addition of Yoast United, Almere Sailors and The Hague Royals. This marked the highest number of teams since the 2007–08 season. ZZ Leiden won its fourth national title after defeating Heroes Den Bosch in the Finals.

On 15 October 2020, the season was suspended for at least four weeks due to government regulations regarding the pandemic.[1] On 19 December 2020, it was announced the competition would restart in January 2021 with a new format.[2]

Teams

After falling sponsorship revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DBL lowered the minimum budget for teams from €300,000 to €150,000 .[3]

On 1 May 2020, Apollo Amsterdam announced it will not play in the DBL season because of uncertainty due to the pandemic. The DBL announced the remaining eight teams will return for the 2020–21 season.[4] On 5 August, it was announced Basketball Community Gelderland has obtained a licence.[5] On 20 August, it was announced Apollo Amsterdam has obtained a license. On 27 August, the DBL announced the entrance of The Hague Royals and Almere Sailors.[6] BC Gelderland later revealed Yoast United as their new club name.[7]

Stadiums and locations
Location of teams in the 2020–21 Dutch Basketball League
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Club Location Venue Capacity
Almere SailorsAlmereTopsportcentrum Almere3,000
Apollo AmsterdamAmsterdamApollohal1,500
Aris LeeuwardenLeeuwardenKalverdijkje1,700
BALWeertSporthal Boshoven1,000
Den Helder SunsDen HelderSporthal Sportlaan1,000
DonarGroningenMartiniPlaza4,350
FeyenoordRotterdamTopsportcentrum Rotterdam2,500
Heroes Den Bosch's-HertogenboschMaaspoort2,800
Landstede HammersZwolleLandstede Sportcentrum1,200
The Hague RoyalsThe HagueSportcampus Zuiderpark3,500
Yoast UnitedBemmelDe Schaapskooi650
ZZ LeidenLeidenVijf Meihal2,000

As is common practice in European basketball, the following clubs carried the name of their sponsor this season:

Club Sponsored name Until
FeyenoordZeeuw & Zeeuw Feyenoord2021[8]
Yoast UnitedYoast United2023[7]

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Main sponsor
Almere Sailors Netherlands Gregory Tjin-A-Koeng (interim) Netherlands Mike Osepa Erreà Flevo Makelaardij
Apollo Amsterdam Netherlands Erwin van der Hart Netherlands Floris Versteeg Nike Paul Meijering Steel
Aris Leeuwarden Belgium Ferried Naciri Netherlands Craig Osaikhwuwuomwan Jako Friezon
BAL Serbia Radenko Varagić Netherlands Roel van Overbeek Spalding Enerparking
Den Helder Suns Netherlands Peter van Noord Netherlands Boyd van der Vuurst de Vries Burned –
Donar United States Pete Miller (interim) Netherlands Thomas Koenis Macron Amysoft
Feyenoord Netherlands Toon van Helfteren Netherlands Jeroen van der List Adidas Zeeuw & Zeeuw
Heroes Den Bosch Belgium Jean-Marc Jaumin Netherlands Stefan Wessels Macron Data City
Landstede Hammers Netherlands Herman van den Belt United Kingdom Nigel van Oostrum Acerbis Landstede
The Hague Royals Netherlands Bert Samson Democratic Republic of the Congo Eric Kibi Burned
Yoast United United States Matthew Otten Netherlands Matthew van Tongeren Jako Yoast SEO
ZZ Leiden Netherlands Geert Hammink Netherlands Marijn Ververs Peak Zorg en Zekerheid

    Managerial changes
    Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
    ZZ Leiden Netherlands Rolf Franke End of contract 30 March 2020[9] Pre-season Netherlands Geert Hammink 17 May 2020[10]
    Donar Netherlands Erik Braal End of contract 14 April 2020[11] Croatia Ivan Rudež 17 April 2020[12]
    Apollo Amsterdam Netherlands Patrick Faijdherbe End of contract 31 March 2020 Croatia Laki Lakner 1 May 2020[13]
    Yoast United None United States Matthew Otten 9 August 2020[14]
    The Hague Royals None Netherlands Bert Samson 20 June 2020[15]
    Almere Sailors None Netherlands Eric Kropf 13 August 2020[16]
    Apollo Amsterdam Croatia Laki Lakner Resigned 24 January 2021[17] 11th (0–3) Netherlands Erwin van der Hart 27 January 2021[18]
    Almere Sailors Netherlands Eric Kropf Fired 10 March 2021[19] 12th (1–9) Netherlands Gregory Tjin-A-Koeng 10 March 2021[19]
    Donar Croatia Ivan Rudež Fired 12 April 2021 3rd United States Pete Miller 12 April 2021[20]

    Regular season

    Table
    Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
    1 ZZ Leiden 11 9 2 1022 838 +184 18 Advance to Elite A
    2 Donar 11 9 2 924 736 +188 18
    3 Landstede Hammers 11 9 2 956 783 +173 18
    4 Heroes Den Bosch 11 8 3 951 836 +115 16
    5 Den Helder Suns 11 7 4 939 866 +73 14
    6 Feyenoord 11 7 4 890 760 +130 14
    7 Yoast United 11 6 5 898 876 +22 12 Advance to Elite B
    8 BAL 11 5 6 854 886 −32 10
    9 Apollo Amsterdam 11 2 9 777 941 −164 4
    10 Aris Leeuwarden 11 2 9 709 852 −143 4
    11 The Hague Royals 11 1 10 663 912 −249 2
    12 Almere Sailors 11 1 10 755 1052 −297 2
    Source: DBL

    Results
    Home \ Away ALM AMS ARI BAL DON DHE FEY HDB LAN THR YOA ZZL
    Almere Sailors — 74–67* 64–81 48–120 84–98 53–84 64–101
    Apollo Amsterdam — 70–81 87–97 67–95 77–105 76–103
    Aris Leeuwarden 78–69 60–63 — 58–89 72–74 60–89
    BAL 81–58 — 55–96 88–89 92–65 75–86
    Donar 76–55 — 84–78 67–85 87–70 82–55
    Den Helder Suns 78–60 90–74 — 85–78 94–86 71–81 85–93
    Zeeuw & Zeeuw Feyenoord 90–54 82–56 87–88 — 83–82 68–46 84–87
    Heroes Den Bosch 119–74 73–71 — 92–46 94–77 88–87
    Landstede Hammers 95–68 86–58 85–70 73–71 — 97–47
    The Hague Royals 85–78 71–80 66–86 53–67 52–89 — 68–73
    Yoast United 89–81 81–89 87–74 69–78 74–106 — 72–87
    ZZ Leiden 124–79 75–63 96–69 98–67 82–91 90–64 —
    Source: DBL
    Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.

      Elite A

      Table and Results

      Teams carry the results from the regular season with them and play each other twice. All six teams are already qualified for the play-offs.

      Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification ZZL HDB DON LAN FEY DHE
      1 ZZ Leiden 21 17 4 1916 1674 +242 34 Advance to Playoffs — 78–86 96–91 96–93 84–78 90–81
      2 Heroes Den Bosch 21 16 5 1935 1627 +308 32 106–90 — 68–81 99–76 83–79 107–58
      3 Donar 21 14 7 1787 1547 +240 28 72–96 71–78 — 66–79 87–76 100–102
      4 Landstede Hammers 21 13 8 1739 1599 +140 26 58–79 65–87 72–91 — 87–77 94–70
      5 Feyenoord 21 10 11 1739 1608 +131 20 92–96 106–87 80–99 78–70 — 104–71
      6 Den Helder Suns 21 9 12 1708 1828 −120 18 79–89 87–105 64–105 73–89 84–79 —
      Source: DBL

      Elite B

      Table and Results

      Teams carry the results from the regular season with them and play each other twice. The two highest ranked teams qualify for the playoffs as seventh and eight seed.

      Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification YOA BAL AMS THR ARI ALM
      1 Yoast United 21 16 5 1758 1564 +194 32 Advance to Playoffs — 86–79 81–66 95–60 74–56 96–87
      2 BAL 21 12 9 1682 1586 +96 24 80–82 — 90–70 75–49 91–69 96–58
      3 Apollo Amsterdam 21 6 15 1522 1701 −179 12 71–83 59–64 — 83–79 82–78 77–80
      4 The Hague Royals 21 6 15 1375 1649 −274 12 63–74 77–76 73–69 — 72–49 81–82
      5 Aris Leeuwarden 21 4 17 1386 1629 −243 8 73–100 57–72 58–75 61–63 — 90–72
      6 Almere Sailors 21 3 18 1503 1960 −457 6 53–89 93–105 74–93 73–95 76–86 —
      Source: DBL

      Playoffs

      The format of the playoffs was changed due to the compressed schedule. Quarterfinals were played as two-legged series, the semifinals as a best-of-three series and the finals as a best-of-five series.

      Bracket
       
      		QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
       
      		          
       
      		 
       
       
      1
      ZZ Leiden      		183
       
      		 
       
      8
      BAL       		148
       
      1
      ZZ Leiden      		2
       
      		 
       
      4
      Landstede Hammers      		1
       
      4
      Landstede Hammers       		180
       
      		 
       
      5
      Feyenoord      		158
       
      1
      ZZ Leiden      		3
       
      		 
       
      2
      Heroes Den Bosch      		0
       
      2
      Heroes Den Bosch      		174
       
      		 
       
      7
      Yoast United      		161
       
      2
      Heroes Den Bosch      		2
       
      		 
       
      3
      Donar      		1
       
      3
      Donar      		188
       
       
      6
      Den Helder Suns      		158
       

      Quarterfinals

      The quarterfinals were played in a two-legged format and were played on 8 May and 11 May 2021.

      Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
      ZZ Leiden 183–148 BAL 86–77 97–71
      Donar 188–154 Den Helder Suns 83–75 105–79
      Heroes Den Bosch 174–161 Yoast United 89–91 85–70
      Landstede Hammers 180–158 Feyenoord 97–76 83–82

      Semifinals

      The semifinals were played in a best of three series and were played on 15 May, 18 May and 20 May.

      Team 1 Series Team 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3
      ZZ Leiden 2–1 Landstede Hammers 97–87 85–90 91–74
      Heroes Den Bosch 2–1 Donar 97–76 71–79 82–74

      Finals

      ZZ Leiden reached the finals for the first time since 3 years, Heroes Den Bosch for the first time since 6 years. It is the sixth time the teams met each other in the finals, the last time being in 2012.

      Team 1 Series Team 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3Game 4Game 5
      ZZ Leiden 3–0 Heroes Den Bosch 112–87 89–82 90–74

      Statistics

      [21]

      Individual statistic leaders
      CategoryPlayerTeam(s)Statistic
      Points per gameNetherlands Emmanuel NzekwesiZZ Leiden20.3
      Rebounds per gameUnited States Quatarrius WilsonBAL10.1
      Assists per gameUnited States Austin LukeYoast United9.3
      Steals per gameUnited States Bolden BraceDen Helder Suns2.6
      Blocks per gameNetherlands Bart BijnsdorpThe Hague Royals1.4
      Turnovers per gameLithuania Deividas KumelisThe Hague Royals4.8
      Minutes per gameUnited States Juan DavisFeyenoord33.3
      FG%Colombia Andrés IbargüenYoast United69.1%

      Individual game highs
      CategoryPlayerTeamStatistic
      PointsUnited States Austin LukeYoast United43
      ReboundsUnited States Quatarrius Wilson (2×)BAL18
      Democratic Republic of the Congo Eric KibiThe Hague Royals
      AssistsLithuania Deividas KumelisThe Hague Royals16
      StealsLithuania Arūnas MikalauskasFeyenoord8
      BlocksFour playersFour player4
      Three pointersUnited States Austin LukeYoast United9

      Final standings

      BAL, winners of the DBL Cup, refused to apply for the FIBA Europe Cup.[22]

      Pos Team Pld W L Qualification
      1 ZZ Leiden (C) 29 24 5 Qualification to Champions League qualifying rounds
      2 Heroes Den Bosch 29 19 10 Qualification to FIBA Europe Cup
      3 Donar 26 17 9 Qualification to FIBA Europe Cup qualifying rounds
      4 Landstede Hammers 26 16 10
      5 Feyenoord 23 10 13
      6 Den Helder Suns 23 9 14
      7 Yoast United 23 17 6
      8 BAL (W) 23 12 11
      9 Apollo Amsterdam 21 6 15
      10 The Hague Royals 21 6 15
      11 Aris Leeuwarden 21 4 17
      12 Almere Sailors 21 3 18
      Source: DBL
      (C) Champions; (W) 2021 DBL Cup winners

      Dutch clubs in European competitions
      TeamCompetitionProgress
      DonarChampions LeagueFirst qualifying round
      FIBA Europe CupRegular season
      Heroes Den BoschFIBA Europe CupRegular season

      References
      1. "Dutch Basketball League suspends season for at least four weeks". 15 October 2020.
      2. "Restart DBL with new competition schedule". Basketball League. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
      3. Eindelijk topbasketbal: The Hague Royals gaat in Dutch Basketball League uitkomen
      4. "DBL gaat verder met acht ploegen". Basketball League. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
      5. "BASKETBALL COMMUNITY GELDERLAND NAAR DBL". Dutch Basketball League. 5 August 2020.
      6. "THE HAGUE ROYALS EN ALMERE SAILORS GAAN DE DBL IN". 27 August 2020.
      7. "Profbasketballers in Bemmel gaan Yoast United heten". De Gelderlander. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
      8. "Feyenoord Basketball trots op partner Zeeuw & Zeeuw". www.friendsinbusiness.nl. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
      9. "ZZ Leiden en Rolf Franke beëindigen samenwerking". Basketball League. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
      10. "Geert Hammink nieuwe coach ZZ Leiden". Eredivisiebasketballleiden.nl. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
      11. "Donar en Braal gaan uit elkaar". Basketball League. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
      12. "Coach Ivan Rudež voor drie seizoenen vastgelegd" [Coach Ivan Rudež signed for three seasons] (in Dutch). Donar.nl. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
      13. "Basketballers Apollo komend seizoen niet op het hoogste niveau". Parool.nl. 1 May 2020.
      14. "Otten hoofdcoach Basketball Community Gelderland" (in Dutch). 9 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
      15. "Bert Samson eerste hoofdcoach van the Hague Royals".
      16. "Eric Kropf hoofdcoach Almere Sailors".
      17. "Basketbalcoach Laki Lakner wil zichzelf niet martelen en stapte daarom op bij Apollo".
      18. "Van der Hart nieuwe coach Apollo".
      19. "Basketbalclub Almere Sailors ontslaat coach Eric Kropf".
      20. "Pete Miller maakt seizoen af als hoofdcoach van Donar". Donar.nl.
      21. "Netherlands DBL Best Individual Games - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
      22. "BAL ziet af van inschrijving Europa Cup". Weertdegekste.nl (in Dutch). 6 July 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
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