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2020–21 Cairns Taipans season
Head coach	Mike Kelly
Captain	Scott Machado
Arena	Cairns Pop-Up Arena
NBL results
Record	8–28 (22.2%)
Ladder	9th
Finals finish	Did not qualify
Biggest win	15 points 84–69 (Breakers)
Biggest defeat	29 points 106–77 (@ Phoenix)
Stats at NBL.com.au
Cup results
Record	2–6 (25%)
Ladder	9th
Cup finish	N/A
Home Attendance
Highest attendance	1,945 (29 March 2021)
Lowest attendance	1,808 (18 January 2021)
Average attendance	1,879
Player records
Points	Oliver 17.3
Rebounds	Oliver 10.0
Assists	Machado 7.0
Efficiency	Jawai 55%
All statistics correct as of 30 May 2021.
← 2019–202021–22 →

The 2020–21 Cairns Taipans season was the 22nd season for the Cairns Taipans in the NBL, and their third and final season under the guidance of Head Coach Mike Kelly.

Season summary

After a successful campaign the season prior, the Taipans faced an early setback when it was announced that the redevelopment of the Cairns Convention Centre had been delayed and was unavailable for use until early February 2020, two months after the NBL announced the delayed season would start. After meeting with the Queensland Minister for Housing, Public Works and Sports Mick de Brenni, it was announced that the redevelopment timeline would not be adjusted for the Taipans. Following more discussions between the club and the state government, it was announced that the government would redevelop an old warehouse capable to host games across the two month period between the start of the season and when the Convention Centre becomes available, with the temporary stadium able to hold 2,000 seats.

Squad

Signings

• The Taipans only retained one of their players over the off-season, Majok Deng, who had signed a multiple season contract before the 2019–20 season. Head Coach Mike Kelly had also already signed for the 2020–21 season.
• On 13 March 2020, Mojave King was signed as a Next Star player. King signed with the Taipans on a three-year deal as part of the Next Stars program, which "contracts Draft eligible players in order to prepare and fast-track them to the NBA, providing an alternative option to attending college."
• On 7 March 2020, the Taipans announced that they'd taken the club option on the contracts of Mirko Djeric, Fabijan Krslovic and Kouat Noi, who would all return to Cairns on a one-year deal.
• On 3 August 2020, the Taipans re-signed co-captain Nathan Jawai on a two-year deal, extending his stint at the club to at least seven years.
• On 6 August 2020, Jarrod Kenny joined the list of returning Taipans and signed a one-season deal with the club.
• On 14 August 2020, the Taipans signed Jordan Ngatai to a two-year deal.
• On 3 September 2020, George Blagojevic re-signed with the club on a two-year deal (with the second year being a club option).
• On 16 November 2020, Cameron Oliver re-signed with the Snakes on a two-year deal, signing as the team's first import for the 2020–21 season,
• On 22 November 2020, Scott Machado completed the Taipans' roster by also signing a two-year deal.
• On 22 December 2020, Jordan Hunt was announced as the Taipans only development player for the season. Tad Dufelmeier and Koen Sapwell were also announced as the training players for the club. Dufelmeier would later be promoted to the playing roster to cover the injury of Deng.
• After both Deng and Noi were injured throughout the season, on 2 April 2021, Hyrum Harris was signed as a nominated injury player.
• On 18 April 2020, Oliver's contract was waived for the season to allow him to return home to the U.S. to support his wife during her pregnancy.
• On 20 April 2020, Venky Jois was signed for the remainder of the season.
• On 30 May 2021, the Taipans announced that Head Coach Kelly wouldn't be returning to the club for the final year of his contract.

Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

2020–21 Cairns Taipans roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age F 0 Oliver, Cameron (I, IN) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 102 kg (225 lb) 28 – (1996-07-11)11 July 1996 G 1 King, Mojave  (NS) 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 22 – (2002-06-11)11 June 2002 G 3 Machado, Scott (I & C) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 34 – (1990-06-08)8 June 1990 G 4 Dufelmeier, Tad 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 79 kg (174 lb) 28 – (1996-02-09)9 February 1996 G 5 Đerić, Mirko 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 29 – (1995-04-17)17 April 1995 G 6 Kenny, Jarrod 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 39 – (1985-09-17)17 September 1985 F 9 Blagojevic, George 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 28 – (1996-10-18)18 October 1996 C 10 Hunt, Jordan (DP) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 108 kg (238 lb) 27 – (1997-09-12)12 September 1997 F 11 Ngatai, Jordan 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 31 – (1993-03-07)7 March 1993 F 12 Noi, Kouat  2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 27 – (1997-10-29)29 October 1997 F 13 Deng, Majok 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 31 – (1993-03-01)1 March 1993 C 15 Jawai, Nathan 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 140 kg (309 lb) 38 – (1986-10-10)10 October 1986 F 20 Krslovic, Fabijan  2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 108 kg (238 lb) 29 – (1995-06-23)23 June 1995 F 55 Jois, Venky (IN) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 104 kg (229 lb) 31 – (1993-07-07)7 July 1993	Head coach Mike Kelly Assistant coach(es) Jamie O'Loughlin Brad Hill Lennon Smartt Team manager Brett Havercroft Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Development player (IN) Inactive (I) Import player (TP) Training player (NS) Next Star player Injured Roster Updated: 4 May 2021

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Development
C	Nathan Jawai			Jordan Hunt
PF	Majok Deng	Venky Jois	Fabijan Krslovic
SF	Jordan Ngatai	George Blagojevic	Kouat Noi
SG	Mojave King	Mirko Djeric
PG	Scott Machado	Tad Dufelmeier	Jarrod Kenny

Pre-season

Ladder

2020–21 NBL pre-season ladder
Ladder	Information
Pos. Nat. Name Pld. W. L. Last 5 Streak Home Away For Against Pts % Win % 1 Melbourne 1 1 0 1–0 W1 0–0 1–0 97 81 119.75% 100.00% 2 Sydney 1 1 0 1–0 W1 1–0 0–0 98 89 110.11% 100.00% 3 Adelaide 3 2 1 2–1 L1 2–0 0–1 276 225 122.67% 66.67% 4 Perth (RC) 2 1 1 1–1 L1 1–1 0–0 165 165 100.00% 50.00% 5 Cairns 2 1 1 1–1 W1 1–1 0–0 177 185 95.68% 50.00% 6 Brisbane 4 2 2 2–2 W2 2–0 0–2 347 378 91.80% 50.00% 7 Illawarra 3 1 2 1–2 L1 0–0 1–2 254 263 96.58% 33.33% 8 S.E. Melbourne 2 0 2 0–2 L2 0–0 0–2 198 210 94.29% 0.00%	Total Rounds 5 weeks Total Games 11 games Legend (RC) Reigning Champion Updated: 9 January 2021

Game log

December

January

Regular season

Ladder

Updated to match(es) played on 9 June 2021. Source: NBL.com.au

Ladder progression

• Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
• Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
• Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.

Game log

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

NBL Cup

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Round 20

Round 21

Awards

Regular season

Player of the Week

Round 4, Scott Machado

Round 14, Cameron Oliver

MVP

Round 1, vs Sydney Kings: Scott Machado

Round 4, vs New Zealand Breakers: Majok Deng

Round 6, vs Illawarra Hawks: Scott Machado

Round 8, vs Sydney Kings: Nathan Jawai

Round 11, vs Adelaide 36ers: Cameron Oliver

Round 14, vs Adelaide 36ers: Cameron Oliver

Round 15, @ New Zealand Breakers: Nathan Jawai

Round 20, @ South East Melbourne Phoenix: Mirko Djeric

See also

• 2020–21 NBL season
• Cairns Taipans

References

1. ^ Bowles, Annabel (1 June 2021). "Mike Kelly's reign over Cairns Taipans comes to an end | Tropic Now - Cairns News". www.tropicnow.com.au. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
2. King, Gavin (8 June 2020). "Cairns Convention Centre redevelopment delayed yet again". www.tropicnow.com.au. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
3. Mason, Grace (2 July 2020). "'Taipans must stay in Cairns': Minister to meet with club". www.cairnspost.com.au. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
4. Gerrans, Jordan. "Cairns prepares for brand new NBL home". www.cairnspost.com.au. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
5. "PLAYER SIGNING | Majok Deng". www.taipans.com.
6. "Taipans Coach of the Year signs on for two more". www.taipans.com.
7. ^ "Mojave King signs with Cairns Taipans as part of NBL's Next Stars program". www.foxsports.com.au.
8. "NBL: Cairns Taipans lock in three for upcoming season". www.cairnspost.com.au.
9. Gerrans, Jordan (3 August 2020). "Co-captain locked in for NBL club". www.cairnspost.com.au. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
10. "Persistence pays off for Jarrod Kenny as he secures new Cairns deal to go with NBL title". Stuff. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
11. "Taipans welcome Jordan Ngatai". www.taipans.com. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
12. Bowles, Annabel (3 September 2020). "Blagojevic completes Taipans' 2020-21 stellar local lineup | Tropic Now - Cairns News". www.tropicnow.com.au. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
13. Uluc, Olgun (16 November 2020). "Taipans secure star import Cameron Oliver". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
14. McInerney, Matthew (22 November 2020). "NBL: Scott Machado, Cairns Taipans, agree to a two-year deal". GeelongAdvertiser.com.au. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
15. "Taipans sign development player Jordan Hunt". Taipans.com. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
16. "Taipans announce injury replacement". Taipans.com. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
17. "Statement on Cameron Oliver". www.Taipans.com. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
18. "Cairns Taipans Add Venky Jois | NBL". NBL.com.au. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

External links

• Official Website
• Team Statistics

• 2020–21 NBL season by team
• 2020–21 NBL season
• Cairns Taipans seasons
• Cairns Taipans