2020–21 Úrvalsdeild karla (basketball)

The 2020–21 Úrvalsdeild karla is the 70th season of the Úrvalsdeild karla, the top tier men's basketball league in Iceland.

Domino's deild karla^1
Teams	12
Games played	126
Dates	1 October 2020 – 2021
TV	Stöð 2 Sport
Statistical leaders
Points Shawn Glover 32.0 Rebounds Dominykas Milka 16.0 Assists Pavel Ermolinskij Calvin Burks Jr. Dedrick Deon Basile 10.0
← 2019–20 2021–22 → All statistics correct as of 6 October 2020. ^1 Sponsored league name, referring to Úrvalsdeild karla.

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.[1]

Teams

Team	City, Region	Arena	Head coach
Grindavík	Grindavík	Mustad Höllin	Daníel Guðni Guðmundsson
Haukar	Hafnarfjörður	Schenkerhöllin	Israel Martín
Höttur	Egilsstaðir	Dalhús	Viðar Örn Hafsteinsson
ÍR	Reykjavík	Hertz Hellirinn	Borce Ilievski
Keflavík	Keflavík	TM Höllin	Hjalti Þór Vilhjálmsson
KR	Reykjavík	DHL Höllin	Darri Freyr Atlason
Njarðvík	Njarðvík	Ljónagryfjan	Einar Árni Jóhannsson
Stjarnan	Garðabær	Ásgarður	Arnar Guðjónsson
Tindastóll	Sauðárkrókur	Sauðárkrókur	Baldur Þór Ragnarsson
Valur	Reykjavík	Origo-höllin	Ágúst Björgvinsson
Þór Akureyri	Akureyri	Höllin	Bjarki Ármann Oddsson
Þór Þorlákshöfn	Þorlákshöfn	Icelandic Glacial Höllin	Lárus Jónsson

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Replaced with	Date of appointment
Þór Akureyri	Lárus Jónsson[2]	Resigned	14 April 2020	Off-season	Andrew Johnson	1 August 2020[3]
Þór Þorlákshöfn	Friðrik Ingi Rúnarsson[4]	Resigned	27 March 2020		Lárus Jónsson[5]	15 April 2020
KR	Ingi Þór Steinþórsson[6]	Fired	7 May 2020		Darri Freyr Atlason	25 May 2020[7]
Þór Akureyri	Andrew Johnston	Fired[8]	19 October 2020	7-12th	Bjarki Ármann Oddsson	23 October 2020

Regular season

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Keflavík	1	1	0	94	74	+20	2	Qualification to playoffs
2	Njarðvík	1	1	0	92	80	+12	2
3	Þór Þorlákshöfn	1	1	0	105	97	+8	2
4	Grindavík	1	1	0	101	94	+7	2
5	Stjarnan	1	1	0	91	86	+5	2
6	ÍR	1	1	0	87	83	+4	2
7	Tindastóll	1	0	1	83	87	−4	0
8	Valur	1	0	1	86	91	−5	0
9	Höttur	1	0	1	94	101	−7	0
10	Haukar	1	0	1	97	105	−8	0
11	KR	1	0	1	80	92	−12	0	Relegated to Division 1
12	Þór Akureyri	1	0	1	74	94	−20	0

Updated to match(es) played on 6 October 2020. Source: KKÍ

Results

Home \ Away	GRI	HAU	HOT	IR	KEF	KR	NJA	STJ	TIN	VAL	THA	THO
Grindavík	—
Haukar		—
Höttur			—
ÍR				—
Keflavík					—
KR						—
Njarðvík							—
Stjarnan								—
Tindastóll									—
Valur										—
Þór Akureyri											—
Þór Þorlákshöfn												—

First match(es) will be played on TBD. Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.

Notable occurrences

• On 14 April, Nikolas Tomsick signed with Tindastóll, meeting his former Þór Þorlákshöfn coach Baldur Þór Ragnarsson.[9]
• On 16 April, it was reported that ÍR had terminated its contract with national team center Sigurður Þorsteinsson[10] and was involved in a salary dispute with him.[11] 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.[12] On 17 November 2020, the District Court of Reykjavík ruled that ÍR owed Sigurður two million ISK in back pays plus penalties.[13]
• On 16 April, ÍR signed three-time 1. deild karla scoring leader Everage Richardson.[14]
• On 7 May, Valur announced it had released Ragnar Nathanaelsson and Austin Magnús Bracey.[15]
• On 12 May, Þór Akureyri signed Srdjan Stojanovic from Fjölnir. Stojanovic was the 8th leading scorer in the league the previous season.[16]
• On 17 May, Grindavík signed Icelandic national team member Kristinn Pálsson from Njarðvík.[17]
• On 18 May, Stjarnan announced it had added Danielle Rodriguez and Ingi Þór Steinþórsson as assistant coaches to Arnar Guðjónsson. Rodriguez had spent the previous four seasons playing in the Úrvalsdeild kvenna while Ingi Þór had spent the last two seasons as the head coach of reigning Úrvalsdeild karla champions KR.[18]
• On 1 June, Haukar signed national team player Ragnar Nathanaelsson who had played the previous two seasons with Valur.[19]
• On 10 June, Icelandic national team member Sigurður Þorsteinsson signed with Höttur.[20]
• 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.[21]
• On 30 June, Mirza Sarajlija signed with Stjarnan, filling the spot left by Nikolas Tomsick.[22]
• On 29 July, Tindastóll signed Shawn Glover.[23]
• On 5 August, former Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year and 5-time national champion Jón Arnór Stefánsson left KR and signed with its Reykjavík rivals Valur.[24]
• On 6 August, Grindavík signed Estonian national team member Joonas Järveläinen.[25]
• On 15 August, it was reported that Haukar had signed Colombian national team member Hansel Atencia from Þór Akureyri.[26]
• On 23 August, Haukar signed Austin Magnús Bracey.[27]
• On 1 September, Haukar announced that team captain Haukur Óskarsson would not play the upcoming season for personal reasons.[28]
• On 7 September, two-time Úrvalsdeild Domestic Player of the Year and Icelandic national team member Kristófer Acox announced that he was leaving KR due to an disagreement between him and the club.[29] Four days later, he signed with KR's Reykjavík rivals Valur.[30] On 24 September, it was reported that KR was refusing to sign his transfer papers to Valur.[31] On 30 September, KR finally signed Kristófer's transfer papers, officially making him a Valur player.[32]
• On 11 September, it was reported that Stjarnan had signed Swedish national team member Alexander Lindqvist.[33]
• On 18 September, KR announced it had signed former Swedish Basketball League scoring champion Ty Sabin along with Ante Gospic.[34]
• On 22 September, Njarðvík signed journeyman Zvonko Buljan.[35]
• On 7 October, Njarðvík's Zvonko Buljan was suspended for three games for grabbing the genital area of an opposing player from KR on 3 October.[36]
• On 7 October, the season was postponed for two weeks due to another outbreak of Covid-19 in Iceland.[37]
• On 19 October, the Icelandic Basketball Association further postponed the season until 3 November.[38]
• On 19 October, Þór Akureyri announced they had laid off head coach Andrew Johnston as it could not afford to keep him on they payroll due to the third outbreak of Covid-19 in Iceland. At the time, the team had only played one game, a home loss against contenders Keflavík.[8]
• On 24 October, Valur signed Portuguese national team member Miguel Cardoso.[39]
• 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.[40]
• On 4 December, Haukar agreed to release Kári Jónsson from his contract so he could sign with LEB Oro club Bàsquet Girona.[41]
• On 8 December, Haukar signed Ingvi Þór Guðmundsson who had started the season with Dresden Titans.[42]
• On 5 January, Haukar announced it had signed Earvin Lee Morris and Irish national team member Brian Fitzpatrick.[43]
• On 5 January, Njarðvík announced the signing of former Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the Year Antonio Hester.[44]
• On 5 January, Höttur signed American Michael Mallory.[45]
• On 21 January, it was reported that KR had signed Brandon Nazione.[46]
• On 26 January, it was reported that Þór Akureyri had signed Côte d'Ivoire national team player Guy Edi.[47]
• On 29 January, Njarðvík signed former Olympian Kyle Johnson.[48]
• On 30 January, it was reported that ÍR had signed Zvonko Buljan who had started the season with Njarðvík.[49]
• On 8 February, Tómas Þórður Hilmarsson returned to Stjarnan after playing Spain.[50]

References

1. "Reglugerð um körfuknattleiksmót". KKI.is (in Icelandic). 20. grein ÚRVALSDEILD KARLA. Retrieved 24 September 2017.CS1 maint: location (link)
2. Anton Ingi Leifsson (15 April 2020). "Lárus nýtti sér upp uppsagnarákvæði og er hættur með Þór". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
3. Runólfur Trausti Þórhallsson (1 August 2020). "Þór Akureyri loks búið að ráða þjálfara". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 August 2020.
4. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (27 March 2020). "Friðrik Ingi hættur hjá Þór". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
5. Hjörvar Ólafsson (15 April 2020). "Lárus tekur við Þór Þorlákshöfn". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
6. Haukur Harðarson (7 May 2020). "Inga Þór sagt upp sem þjálfara KR - tekur Darri við?". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 May 2020.
7. Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (25 May 2020). "Darri Freyr og Francisco Garcia taka við KR-liðunum". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 May 2020.
8. Anton Ingi Leifsson (19 October 2020). "Treystu sér ekki að standa við gerða samninga við Andrew og eru nú þjálfaralausir". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
9. "Nick Tomsick búinn að skrifa undir við Tindastól". Feykir.is (in Icelandic). 26 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
10. Anton Ingi Leifsson (16 April 2020). "ÍR riftir samningnum við Sigurð Gunnar". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
11. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (16 April 2020). "Sigurður Gunnar á í launadeilu við ÍR". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
12. Freyr Gígja Gunnarsson (26 August 2020). "Sigurður Gunnar stefnir ÍR og vill vangoldin laun". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 August 2020.
13. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (17 November 2020). "Héraðsdómur dæmdi ÍR til að greiða Sigurði tæpar tvær milljónir". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 21 November 2020.
14. Helgi Hrafn Ólafsson (16 April 2020). "Everage Richardson til ÍR "Ég er tilbúinn fyrir nýja áskorun"". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
15. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (7 May 2020). "Finnur byrjaður að taka til hjá Val". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 May 2020.
16. Sindri Sverrisson (12 May 2020). "Þórsarar fá Stojanovic en missa Baldur". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 May 2020.
17. Sindri Sverrisson (16 May 2020). "Grindavík fær góðan liðsstyrk úr Njarðvík". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 May 2020.
18. Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (18 May 2020). "Arnar Guðjóns fær Inga Þór og Dani Rodriguez sér til aðstoðar í Garðabænum". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 May 2020.
19. Runólfur Trausti Þórhallsson (1 June 2020). "Ragnar gengur til liðs við Hauka". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 1 June 2020.
20. Gunnar Gunnarsson (10 June 2020). "Langstærstu félagaskipti í sögu Hattar". Austurfrétt (in Icelandic). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
21. Anton Ingi Leifsson (17 June 2020). "Kristjana Eir: Buðu mér tækifæri sem ég gat ekki hafnað". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
22. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (30 June 2020). "Stjarnan búin að finna mann í staðinn fyrir Tomsick". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
23. Davíð Eldur (29 July 2020). "Shawn Glover til Tindastóls – Ekki fleiri ráðnir fyrir næsta tímabil". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 August 2020.
24. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (5 August 2020). "Staðfesta félagaskipti Jóns Arnórs til Vals: „Ótrúlega sérstakt að kveðja KR í bili"". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 August 2020.
25. Ólafur Þór Jónsson (6 August 2020). "Eistneskur landsliðsmaður til Grindavíkur". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 6 August 2020.
26. Davíð Eldur (15 August 2020). "Hansel Atencia í Hafnarfjörðinn". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 22 September 2020.
27. Davíð Eldur (23 August 2020). "Austin Magnus Bracey til Hauka". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 August 2020.
28. Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (1 September 2020). "Fyrirliði Hauka ætlar ekki að spila með liðinu í vetur en er ekki hættur". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 September 2020.
29. Ólafur Þór Jónsson (7 September 2020). "Kristófer Acox staðfestir brottför frá KR". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 7 September 2020.
30. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (11 September 2020). "Kristófer genginn í raðir Vals". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 September 2020.
31. Sindri Sverrisson (24 September 2020). "KR neitaði að skrifa undir félagaskipti Kristófers". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 September 2020.
32. Sindri Sverrisson (30 September 2020). "Félagaskipti Kristófers loks í gegn". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 September 2020.
33. Sindri Sverisson (11 September 2020). "Sænskur landsliðsmaður í Stjörnuna: Leit alltaf upp til Hlyns og þekki Ægi". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 September 2020.
34. Runólfur Trausti Þórhallsson (18 September 2020). "Íslandsmeistararnir fá tvo erlenda leikmenn - Annar stigahæstur í Svíþjóð á síðustu leiktíð". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
35. Davíð Eldur (22 September 2020). "Fyrrum skólabróðir Helenu í Gryfjuna – Zvonko Buljan til Njarðvíkur". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 22 September 2020.
36. Davíð Eldur (7 October 2020). "Zvonko Buljan í þriggja leikja bann". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 7 October 2020.
37. Anton Ingi Leifsson (7 October 2020). "KKÍ og HSÍ frestar öllu mótahaldi í tæpar tvær vikur en KSÍ í viku". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 7 October 2020.
38. Anton Ingi Leifsson (19 October 2020). "KKÍ frestar öllu mótahaldi til 3. nóvember: Gera ráð fyrir að leika í Domino's deildunum milli jóla og nýárs". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
39. Davíð Eldur (24 October 2020). "Leikstjórnandinn Miguel Cardoso til liðs við Val". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 October 2020.
40. "Buljan og Montgomery halda heim á leið". Njarðvík (in Icelandic). 29 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
41. Davíð Eldur (4 December 2020). "Kári Jónsson til Girona á Spáni". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 4 December 2020.
42. Ólafur Þór Jónsson (8 December 2020). "Ingvi Þór til Hauka". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
43. Davíð Eldur (5 January 2021). "Morris og Fitzpatrick til Hauka". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 January 2021.
44. Davíð Eldur (5 January 2021). "Antonio Hester til Njarðvíkur". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 January 2021.
45. Davíð Eldur (5 January 2021). "Michael Mallory til Hattar". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 January 2021.
46. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (20 January 2021). "KR-ingar búnir að finna stóran mann". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
47. Davíð Eldur (26 January 2021). "Guy Landry Edi til Þórs Akureyri". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
48. Davíð Eldur (29 January 2021). "Kyle Johnson í Njarðtaksgryfjuna". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 January 2021.
49. Ólafur Þór Jónsson (30 January 2021). "Zvonko snýr aftur – Á leið í Breiðholtið". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 January 2021.
50. Davíð Eldur (8 February 2021). "Tómas Þórður semur við Stjörnuna – Unnið í að fá hann löglegan í leik kvöldsins". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 February 2021.

External links

• Official Icelandic Basketball Association website