| 2021 New Zealand NBL season | |
| League: | New Zealand NBL |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Duration: | 24 April – 23 July |
| No Of Games: | 18 |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Minor Premiers: | Wellington Saints |
| Mvp: | Dion Prewster (Wellington Saints) |
| Mvp Link: | New Zealand NBL Most Valuable Player Award |
| Top Scorer: | Hunter Hale (Nelson Giants) |
| Top Scorer Link: | New Zealand NBL Scoring Champion |
| Finals: | Final Four |
| Finals Champ: | Wellington Saints |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Hawke's Bay Hawks |
| Grand Final Mvp: | Kerwin Roach |
| Grand Final Mvp Link: | New Zealand NBL Finals Most Valuable Player Award |
| Seasonslistnames: | New Zealand NBL |
| Prevseason Link: | 2020 New Zealand NBL season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2020 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2022 New Zealand NBL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2022 |
The 2021 NBL season was the 40th season of the National Basketball League.
As a result of the modified, COVID-affected 2020 season, three of the top four teams in 2019 (Wellington Saints, Hawke's Bay Hawks and Southland Sharks) did not compete. All three teams re-entered in 2021 to increase the league's total number to 10 for the first time since 2014.[1] [2]
The regular season commenced on 24 April in Dunedin with the Otago Nuggets (2020 champions) hosting the Wellington Saints (2019 champions) at the Edgar Centre. The season contained 12 weeks of regular season games followed by a two-day finals schedule in July. The Saints won their 12th NBL championship in 2021 with a win over the Hawks in the grand final.
| Team | City | Arena | Colours | Head Coach | Import | Import |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland Huskies | Auckland | Eventfinda Stadium |  Aaron Young |  Justin Bibbs | Chris Johnson | |
| Canterbury Rams | Christchurch | Cowles Stadium |  Mick Downer | E. J. Singler | Deshon Taylor | |
| Franklin Bulls | Auckland | Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre | Jamie Reddish | Zane Waterman | ||
| Hawke's Bay Hawks | Napier | Pettigrew Green Arena | Jacob Chance | Rhys Vague | Devondrick Walker | |
| Manawatu Jets | Palmerston North | Arena Manawatu | Tim McTamney | DeAndre Daniels | Daishon Knight | |
| Nelson Giants | Nelson | Trafalgar Centre | Michael Fitchett | Hunter Hale | Donte Ingram | |
| Otago Nuggets | Dunedin | Edgar Centre | Brent Matehaere | Geremy McKay | Isaiah Moss | |
| Southland Sharks | Invercargill | Stadium Southland | Rob Beveridge | Courtney Belger | Josh Cunningham | |
| Taranaki Mountainairs | New Plymouth | TSB Stadium | Trent Adam | |||
| Wellington Saints | Wellington | TSB Bank Arena | Zico Coronel |  Romaro Gill | Kerwin Roach | |
In the final round of the regular season, due to an extreme weather event and major flooding across the top of the South Island, the games between the Manawatu Jets and Nelson Giants (Sunday 5pm) and Taranaki Mountainairs and Nelson Giants (Monday 7:30pm) were both cancelled. With the games not having an impact on the 2021 Final Four, the League advised neither clash would be rescheduled.[3]
Stats as of the end of the regular season[4] [5] [6]
| Category | Player | Team | Stat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | 26.9 | |||
| Rebounds per game | 13.9 | |||
| Assists per game | Courtney Belger | 5.7 | ||
| Steals per game | 2.6 | |||
| Blocks per game | 2.3 |