Awards Watch - January, 2024

14 rounds into the season and the race for the NBL's most prestigious awards is on.

So it's that time again, as former Melbourne United champion Pete Hooley checks out all the key chances for each of the awards, including the prized MVP.

We are heading towards the business end of the season and the MVP race is certainly heating up. Up until this point in the season, we have seen numerous players lead the charge for this award and now we are seeing greatness try to put a gap on them by the time it wraps up.

Early on, Jordon Crawford and Nathan Sobey were top candidates, then Alan Williams returned from injury and dominated to put his name in the mix. Then once the dust settled and we were in full flight of NBL24, Chris Goulding stood up and cemented himself in the conversation as not just the best shooter in the league, but the ultimate game-breaker who can put teams to bed in a matter of minutes. Which brings us to now.

Bryce Cotton’s form since the beginning of round six is beyond absurd. Through those 11 games, Cotton is averaging 28ppg on 43 per cent from the field, 90 per cent from the free-throw line, 4.3 rebounds and 4 assists. Had he not got off to a slow start to the season, the engraving would already be done.

Cotton is playing on another level right now and the Wildcats have responded accordingly to become a top two team in the league. He still has nine games to go and even with the fact he averaged just 14 points in the team’s first seven games, he leads the league in scoring and could be playing the best basketball of his career. 

It's also worth keeping a very close eye on the two stars from New Zealand and Cairns who have been putting up big numbers almost every single night. Both Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Pat Miller have been a major reason that their teams are knocking on the door of a Play-In spot. As we know with the MVP, team performance matters and these two may really make a splash in this conversation as the season draws near.

In the mix
Bryce Cotton
Chris Goulding
Parker Jackson-Cartwright
Patrick Miller
Jordon Crawford
Mitch Creek

Bryce Cotton.

Last time I touched on this award I mentioned how for the first time in a long time, there may not be a clear-cut favourite to win it. Having said that, it’s worth mentioning that what Shea Ili is doing isn’t surprising anyone and it isn’t anything that will grab headlines.

Ili has been at this elite level defensively ever since he stepped foot in the NBL. It’s very Damian Martin-esque with the way he uses his physicality and agility to refuse to be screened, contest every shot, be first on the floor and so much more.

It shocked a lot of people last year that a player who managed to appear in just 14 games could be a finalist for this award. But with players and coaches voting, that just speaks to his reputation around the league as one of the elite defenders we have seen for a very long time.

I know John Rillie has been vocal about Kristian Doolitte deserving more credit in this space and I’m on board to give him all the flowers and more. Doolittle has been a revelation for a Perth team that started the season very poor and quickly became a force to be reckoned with. His versatility to guard anyone on the floor combined with his rebounding is exactly what the Wildcats have been missing for the last few seasons. Every great defensive team needs a player to set a tone on that end and Perth have certainly found their man.

Speaking of setting a tone, the more you watch the Taipans, the harder it becomes to pick who that is between Tahjere McCall and Bul Kuol. Kuol is one of the most physically dominant wing defenders in the NBL and has found his niche under Adam Forde, and when he splits time with McCall in guarding the opposition’s best player, the Taipans look really tough.

Another to keep an eye on is Jaylin Galloway. One of the brightest young stars in this league is destined for massive things in his future and if it wasn’t for him missing a bit of time through injury, he would be right up there in this conversation. 

In the mix
Shea Ili
Kristian Doolittle
Bul Kuol
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr
Will Magnay
Sam McDaniel

Bul Kuol.

Looking at the candidates for this season’s Most Improved Player, it might be worth noting that the winner may not be the one who has had the major jump in stats. It can be easy to be caught up in the numbers to determine who has made big strides from last season to now, but there are players like Jack McVeigh and Luke Travers who we have seen play at a high level in the past, yet are now doing more to contribute to winning on a nightly basis. 

Whilst the +/- stat isn’t everyone’s favourite, part of Jack McVeigh’s rise is the fact that when he’s on the floor, good things are happening for Tasmania. McVeigh leads the entire league in this category and has shown numerous times that when the JackJumpers need a big play, he’s ready to make that happen. 

Then there are the bright young prospects like Jaylin Galloway, who many expected to take a leap this year, showing why they will have NBA opportunities sooner rather than later. Galloway might be well known for his athleticism and defensive mindset, but he is starting to showcase how much of a problem he can be offensively, too. It’s no surprise that Sydney looks a much more dangerous team with him in the lineup. 

In the mix
Jaylin Galloway
Jack McVeigh
Tyrell Harrison
Jordan Hunter
DJ Vasiljevic
Ben Ayre

Jack McVeigh.

If you had to pick a major award outside of the MVP that could already be engraved, it may be this one.

Ian Clark has been everything everyone expected for United and more in NBL24. The sparkplug of the bench ranks 24th in the league in scoring, at 14ppg in just 25 minutes played. It’s not just that he’s putting up big numbers off the bench that has him leading this conversation, but it’s how efficiently he is doing it as well. Clark is shooting a ridiculous 50 per cent from the field, 49 per cent from three and 94 per cent from the free-throw line.

Not only is one of the most consistent players in NBL24, when he can take over a game like he did in that overtime blockbuster against Perth, it all makes sense that this guy comes with a championship pedigree. 

Speaking of championship pedigree, while this is a new-look Sydney Kings outfit, the reigning champs have shown glimpses of the potential many expect towards the end of the season. Jonah Bolden has probably exceeded many people’s expectations, considering he was away from the game for a couple of years. Bolden is averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds off the bench and seems to still have a big room for improvement, which could make the Kings a tough proposition by February. 

If it wasn’t for injuries, Will Magnay may actually be the front-runner for this award. But then again, if he was healthy for the majority of the year then it is very likely he would be starting for Tasmania as well.

When Magnay returned, Tasmania went from a subpar defensive team to a great one and a lot of that hinged on the back of his efforts protecting the rim.

Magnay has shown throughout his career that when healthy, he is one of the best big men around. 

In the mix
Ian Clark
Jonah Bolden
Will Magnay
Koaut Noi
Alex Sarr

Jonah Bolden.

Initially, when this award was changed, I had my concerns about how it would look going forward. Now that I think about all the eligible candidates, I love it. 

We so often forget that some of our elite local talent in the NBL are so young, because we have seen them play for many seasons now.

Players like Luke Travers and Sam Froling, who have been producing at a really high level for a number of seasons now, are still only 22 and 23 years old respectively.

When it comes to who is leading this right now, it’s probably Froling who gets the nod, ever so slightly. A lot of Illawarra’s turnaround has been on the back of Froling being the focal point and playing aggressively for an entire game. He is averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds on a Hawks team which is charging towards a remarkable Play-In spot.

Luke Travers came across to Melbourne United in the hope of unlocking some more consistency and more production offensively. It’s not flashy, but the more you watch Travers play this season, the more you’ll see that he’s been quietly dominant in his role for United. Travers is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds on one of the deepest teams in the competition and it’s no surprise that the Cavs GM was impressed enough to say that they’ll be looking to find a spot for him next season. 

With all the well deserved hype around the Next Stars, I think there’s still some room on board the Mantas Rubstavicius train right now. The bright spark for New Zealand has scored 15 or more in four consecutive games and has been instrumental in turning this season around for Mody Maor’s men. Not only will he feature heavily in this award if that trend continues, but he will fly up the draft boards as well. 

In the mix
Sam Froling
Luke Travers
Josh Bannan
Jaylin Galloway
Sean Macdonald
Mantas Rubstavicius

Sam Froling.

Dean Vickerman had one hand on this trophy at the midway point of the season and while there are a couple of candidates closing in, he’s still in the driver’s seat.

While United have lost to Cairns twice, they still sit on top of the table and look like a team that is going to be very tough to beat in a Finals series.

It’s been a masterclass by Vickerman to find different lineups that work each game and while some players' minutes are up and down, winning solves all.

United faces a big road test in January and if they can get through it without dropping too many games, then it’s hard to see anyone challenge Vickerman here.

I’m sure John Rillie won’t take credit for Perth’s turn in form, but he should. It takes a lot of guts to reduce rotations and move personnel around mid-season and hope that it changes the dynamic, yet that’s exactly what happened back in Round 5.

Rillie needed to find a lineup that worked well defensively, so he inserted Hyrum Harris into the starting lineup and moved Dootlittle to the small forward. Perth all of a sudden went from a club that was looking at what their roster for NBL25 could be, to a team that could win a title in NBL24.

It's a small sample size, but if Justin Tatum keeps this up for the Hawks, we could be having some very serious conversations at the end of NBL24. 

In the mix
Dean Vickerman
John Rillie
Justin Tatum
Mody Maor
Scott Roth

Dean Vickerman.