All statistics correct as of 10 May 2021.1 Sponsored league name, referring to Úrvalsdeild karla.
The 2020–21 Úrvalsdeild karla was the 70th season of the Úrvalsdeild karla, the top tier men's basketball league in Iceland. The season started on 1 October 2020 and ended on 25 June 2021. Þór Þorlákshöfn won its first title by defeating Keflavík 3–1 in the Finals.[1]
Competition format
The participating teams first played a conventional round-robin schedule with every team playing each opponent once home and once away for a total of 22 games. The top eight teams qualified for the championship playoffs whilst the two last qualified were relegated to Division 1.[2]
On 16 April, it was reported that ÍR had terminated its contract with national team center Sigurður Þorsteinsson[13] and was involved in a salary dispute with him.[14] In August 2020, Sigurður sued ÍR for missing salary payments and claimed the team owed him over 2 million ISK. ÍR had stopped paying Sigurður his salary after the injury, claiming he was not fulfilling his end of the contract.[15] On 17 November 2020, the District Court of Reykjavík ruled that ÍR owed Sigurður two million ISK in back pays plus penalties.[16]
On 16 June, ÍR hired Kristjana Eir Jónsdóttir as an assistant coach, making her the second female coach in the league behind Stjarnan's Danielle Rodriguez.[25]
On 1 September, Haukar announced that team captain Haukur Óskarsson would not play the upcoming season for personal reasons.[33]
On 7 September, two-time Úrvalsdeild Domestic Player of the Year and Iceland national team member Kristófer Acox announced that he was leaving KR due to a disagreement between him and the club.[34] Four days later, he signed with KR's Reykjavík rivals Valur.[35] On 24 September, it was reported that KR was refusing to sign his transfer papers to Valur.[36] On 30 September, KR finally signed Kristófer's transfer papers, officially making him a Valur player.[37]
On 29 November, Njarðvík announced that it had released Zvonko Buljan and Ryan Montgomery at their own request due to the Coronavirus stoppage in Iceland.[45]
On 11 February, it was reported that former Haukar player Hjálmar Stefánsson would leave Spanish club CB Carbajosa and return to Iceland to join Valur,[57] much to the displeasure of Haukar who threatened legal action as they believed that he was still under contract obligations to not to play for any other team in Iceland except them until after the season.[58] On 27 February, the Icelandic Basketball Association confirmed his transfer from Carbajosa to Valur.[59] On 5 March it was reported that Haukar would not pursue a legal case in the matter.[60]
On 13 March, it was announced that Shawn Glover had left Tindastóll after falling out with head coach Baldur Þór Ragnarsson.[65][66] In 11 games for Tindastóll, Glover averaged a team leading 26.2 points and 7.4 rebounds.
On 16 March, Haukar fired head coach Israel Martín after a 3-11 start.[67] The day after, assistant coach Sævaldur Bjarnason was introduced as his replacement.[11]
On 17 March, Keflavík terminated their contract with American forward Max Montana for breach of disciplinary rules.[68]
On 28 May, Jón Arnór Stefánsson announced his retirement from basketball following Valur's 2-3 loss against KR in the first round of the Úrvalsdeild playoffs.[69]
On 7 June, Jakob Sigurðarson announced his retirement from basketball following KR's 0-3 loss against Keflavík in the semi-finals of the Úrvalsdeild playoffs.