2019–20_LKL_season
The 2019–20 Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, also called Betsafe-LKL for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th season of the top-tier level professional basketball league of Lithuania, the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL). On 13 March 2020, season was ended prematurely because of the coronavirus pandemic.[1]
| Betsafe-LKL | |
|---|---|
| Season | 2019–20 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Žalgiris 22nd title |
| Runners-up | Rytas |
| Third place | Lietkabelis |
| Fourth place | Neptūnas |
← 2018–19 2020–21 → | |
On 13 March 2020, the board of the LKL decided to end the season because of the coronavirus pandemic. Along with this decision, they crowned regular season champions Žalgiris as the new Lithuanian champions.[1]
During the regular season, all teams play 32 games. The top eight teams in the regular season standings, after playing their entire 32 game schedule, qualified for the playoffs in the quarterfinals, that was played in a best-of-three games format. The semifinals were played in best-of-three format.
The final round was played between the two winners of the semifinals. The finals series, for first place, as also games for third place were played in a best-of-five format.[2]
Location and arenas
At first, nine teams were able to participate because Nevėžis did not provide the required documentation up to 15 August.[3] However, board of the LKL approved participation of that team. [4]
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cbet Prienai | Prienai | Prienai Arena | 1,500 |
| Sintek–Dzūkija | Alytus | Alytus Arena | 5,500 |
| Juventus | Utena | Utena Arena | 2,000 |
| Lietkabelis | Panevėžys | Cido Arena | 5,950 |
| Neptūnas | Klaipėda | Švyturys Arena | 6,200 |
| Nevėžis | Kėdainiai | Kėdainiai Arena | 2,200 |
| Pieno žvaigždės | Pasvalys | Pieno žvaigždės Arena | 1,500 |
| Rytas | Vilnius | Lietuvos rytas Arena | 2,500 |
| Siemens Arena | 10,000 | ||
| Šiauliai | Šiauliai | Šiauliai Arena | 5,700 |
| Žalgiris | Kaunas | Žalgiris Arena | 15,708 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Žalgiris (C) | 24 | 22 | 2 | 2135 | 1680 | +455 | Already qualified for EuroLeague |
| 2 | Rytas | 24 | 17 | 7 | 2033 | 1812 | +221 | Qualification for Champions League |
| 3 | Lietkabelis | 24 | 16 | 8 | 1880 | 1740 | +140 | Qualification for EuroCup |
| 4 | Neptūnas | 24 | 14 | 10 | 2009 | 1933 | +76 | Qualification for Champions League qualifying rounds |
| 5 | Juventus | 24 | 13 | 11 | 1847 | 1877 | −30 | |
| 6 | Cbet Prienai | 24 | 11 | 13 | 1769 | 1906 | −137 | |
| 7 | Pieno žvaigždės | 24 | 8 | 16 | 1861 | 1993 | −132 | |
| 8 | Šiauliai | 24 | 7 | 17 | 1892 | 2045 | −153 | |
| 9 | Sintek–Dzūkija | 24 | 6 | 18 | 1785 | 1989 | −204 | |
| 10 | Nevėžis[lower-alpha 1] | 24 | 6 | 18 | 1626 | 1862 | −236 |
- The rule enforcing relegation of the last placed team was suspended as a result of an early termination of the championship.[5]
Results
| Home \ Away | CBE | DZU | JUV | LTK | NEP | NEV | PIE | RYT | SIA | ZAL | CBE | DZU | JUV | LTK | NEP | NEV | PIE | RYT | SIA | ZAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cbet Prienai | — | 88–72 | 74–80 | 80–74 | 59–101 | 79–77 | 81–79 | 78–87 | 85–76 | 64–105 | — | 94–70 | 85–95 | 67–65 | 79–94 | |||||
| Sintek–Dzūkija | 61–68 | — | 84–77 | 54–63 | 80–77 | 68–62 | 74–75 | 54–92 | 87–61 | 65–91 | — | 65–73 | 86–87 | |||||||
| Juventus | 65–76 | 88–75 | — | 77–83 | 80–76 | 92–84 | 112–108 | 83–81 | 77–72 | 77–101 | 84–71 | — | 89–77 | 66–70 | 82–91 | |||||
| Lietkabelis | 74–61 | 91–73 | 84–62 | — | 102–64 | 75–51 | 75–62 | 83–74 | 88–70 | 83–72 | 76–62 | — | 85–69 | 67–81 | ||||||
| Neptūnas | 86–73 | 74–67 | 80–67 | 78–74 | — | 88–78 | 93–70 | 91–84 | 90–94 | 73–80 | 78–73 | 115–89 | 78–84 | — | 90–70 | |||||
| Nevėžis | 73–70 | 70–74 | 78–80 | 91–68 | 75–68 | — | 88–87 | 68–65 | 85–98 | 57–83 | 77–82 | — | 63–92 | |||||||
| Pieno žvaigždės | 63–71 | 79–75 | 72–84 | 78–75 | 77–86 | 87–66 | — | 72–93 | 88–84 | 64–108 | 96–74 | — | 80–73 | 74–77 | ||||||
| Rytas | 88–64 | 98–85 | 86–65 | 82–77 | 85–75 | 90–71 | 95–84 | — | 93–70 | 70–88 | 92–69 | 96–75 | 97–89 | — | 96–75 | |||||
| Šiauliai | 84–69 | 71–73 | 60–86 | 71–80 | 95–102 | 96–81 | 81–86 | 81–86 | — | 63–94 | 74–87 | 91–75 | — | |||||||
| Žalgiris | 87–55 | 102–50 | 86–80 | 96–69 | 100–82 | 89–84 | 81–47 | 78–72 | 86–80 | — | 71–61 | 83–86 | — |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.
| Award | Player | Team | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gentleman of the year |  Arnas Butkevičius | Prienai | [6] |
| The best defensive player |  Thomas Walkup | Žalgiris | |
| The best young player | Rokas Jokubaitis | Prienai |
Best coach of the season
All-LKL Team
| Pos. | Player | Team | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Thomas Walkup | Žalgiris | [8] |
| SG | Arnas Velička | Prienai | |
| SF | Arnas Butkevičius | Rytas | |
| PF | Zach LeDay | Žalgiris | |
| C | Laurynas Birutis | Prienai | |
| Team | Competition | Progress |
|---|---|---|
| Žalgiris | EuroLeague | Regular season |
| Rytas | EuroCup | Top 16 |
| Neptūnas | Champions League | Regular season |
| Lietkabelis | Round of 16 | |
- Maggi, Alessandro (13 March 2020). "LKL season cancelled, Zalgiris crowned as Champions". Sportando. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- "Betsafe LKL to remain 10-team league, Play-Off series shortened for 2018-19". en.lkl.lt. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- "Nevezis removed from Lithuanian top division". Sportando. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- "Nevezis is staying in LKL - LKL.LT". en.lkl.lt. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- "Nutraukiamas "Betsafe–LKL" čempionatas, nugalėtoju skelbiamas "Žalgiris"" (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian Basketball League. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- "LKL awards 2020". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- "LKL Coach of the Year 2020". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- "All-LKL Team 2020". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 10 October 2023.