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
Season	2020–21
Dates	3 October 2020 – 27 May 2021
Number of teams	12
Regular season
Season MVP	Emmanuel Nzekwesi (Leiden)
Finals
Champions	ZZ Leiden 4th title
Runners-up	Heroes Den Bosch
Playoffs MVP	Worthy de Jong
Statistical leaders
Points Emmanuel Nzekwesi 21.7 Rebounds Quatarrius Wilson 10.3 Assists Austin Luke 9.7
Records
Average attendance	0 (all games played behind closed doors)
← 2019–20 2021–22 BNXT →

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

 

 

Sailors

 

Apollo

 

United

 

Royals

 

Suns

 

Aris

 

Feyenoord

 

Donar

 

Hammers

 

Den Bosch

 

BAL

 

Leiden

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Location of teams in the 2020–21 Dutch Basketball League

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
Almere Sailors	Almere	Topsportcentrum Almere	3,000
Apollo Amsterdam	Amsterdam	Apollohal	1,500
Aris Leeuwarden	Leeuwarden	Kalverdijkje	1,700
BAL	Weert	Sporthal Boshoven	1,000
Den Helder Suns	Den Helder	Sporthal Sportlaan	1,000
Donar	Groningen	MartiniPlaza	4,350
Feyenoord	Rotterdam	Topsportcentrum Rotterdam	2,500
Heroes Den Bosch	's-Hertogenbosch	Maaspoort	2,800
Landstede Hammers	Zwolle	Landstede Sportcentrum	1,200
The Hague Royals	The Hague	Sportcampus Zuiderpark	3,500
Yoast United	Bemmel	De Schaapskooi	650
ZZ Leiden	Leiden	Vijf Meihal	2,000

Sponsored club names

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

Club	Sponsored name	Until
Feyenoord	Zeeuw & Zeeuw Feyenoord	2021^[8]
Yoast United	Yoast United	2023^[7]

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Main sponsor
Almere Sailors	Gregory Tjin-A-Koeng (interim)	Mike Osepa	Erreà	Flevo Makelaardij
Apollo Amsterdam	Erwin van der Hart	Floris Versteeg	Nike	Paul Meijering Steel
Aris Leeuwarden	Ferried Naciri	Craig Osaikhwuwuomwan	Jako	Friezon
BAL	Radenko Varagić	Roel van Overbeek	Spalding	Enerparking
Den Helder Suns	Peter van Noord	Boyd van der Vuurst de Vries	Burned	–
Donar	Pete Miller (interim)	Thomas Koenis	Macron	Amysoft
Feyenoord	Toon van Helfteren	Jeroen van der List	Adidas	Zeeuw & Zeeuw
Heroes Den Bosch	Jean-Marc Jaumin	Stefan Wessels	Macron	Data City
Landstede Hammers	Herman van den Belt	Nigel van Oostrum	Acerbis	Landstede
The Hague Royals	Bert Samson	Eric Kibi	Burned
Yoast United	Matthew Otten	Matthew van Tongeren	Jako	Yoast SEO
ZZ Leiden	Geert Hammink	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	Rolf Franke	End of contract	30 March 2020^[9]	Pre-season	Geert Hammink	17 May 2020^[10]
Donar	Erik Braal	End of contract	14 April 2020^[11]		Ivan Rudež	17 April 2020^[12]
Apollo Amsterdam	Patrick Faijdherbe	End of contract	31 March 2020		Laki Lakner	1 May 2020^[13]
Yoast United	None				Matthew Otten	9 August 2020^[14]
The Hague Royals	None				Bert Samson	20 June 2020^[15]
Almere Sailors	None				Eric Kropf	13 August 2020^[16]
Apollo Amsterdam	Laki Lakner	Resigned	24 January 2021^[17]	11th (0–3)	Erwin van der Hart	27 January 2021^[18]
Almere Sailors	Eric Kropf	Fired	10 March 2021^[19]	12th (1–9)	Gregory Tjin-A-Koeng	10 March 2021^[19]
Donar	Ivan Rudež	Fired	12 April 2021	3rd	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

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Finals
	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.	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 3	Game 4	Game 5
ZZ Leiden	3–0	Heroes Den Bosch	112–87	89–82	90–74

Statistics

^[21]

Individual statistic leaders

Category	Player	Team(s)	Statistic
Points per game	Emmanuel Nzekwesi	ZZ Leiden	20.3
Rebounds per game	Quatarrius Wilson	BAL	10.1
Assists per game	Austin Luke	Yoast United	9.3
Steals per game	Bolden Brace	Den Helder Suns	2.6
Blocks per game	Bart Bijnsdorp	The Hague Royals	1.4
Turnovers per game	Deividas Kumelis	The Hague Royals	4.8
Minutes per game	Juan Davis	Feyenoord	33.3
FG%	Andrés Ibargüen	Yoast United	69.1%

Individual game highs

Category	Player	Team	Statistic
Points	Austin Luke	Yoast United	43
Rebounds	Quatarrius Wilson (2×)	BAL	18
	Eric Kibi	The Hague Royals
Assists	Deividas Kumelis	The Hague Royals	16
Steals	Arūnas Mikalauskas	Feyenoord	8
Blocks	Four players	Four player	4
Three pointers	Austin Luke	Yoast United	9

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) Champion; (W) 2021 DBL Cup winners

Dutch clubs in European competitions

Team	Competition	Progress
Donar	Champions League	First qualifying round
	FIBA Europe Cup	Regular season
Heroes Den Bosch	FIBA Europe Cup	Regular 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. 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.