Awards Watch: NBL23 Preview

It’s finally here! We are so close to tip-off for NBL23 in what looks set to be one of the most exciting and competitive seasons we have ever seen. The elite level of incoming talent, combined with our local crop who are ready to take another step, it’s time to sit back and enjoy the show.

Across the course of the season, I’ll be taking a look at all the major award contenders and try to cast an eye over who is strengthening their name amongst the league’s best. With the pre-season done and dusted, let’s take an early look at a few names who could be in the mix when we hit the business end of the season.

MVP
It came down to the wire in NBL22, with the two favourites for the MVP battling it out for the glory. With the departure of the eventual winner, Jaylen Adams, it might seem as though it’s anyone’s award to win this season. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, whilst I think any one of the names below could have an MVP calibre season, if they want to earn that title, they still need to rip it out of Bryce Cotton’s hands. 

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Cotton looks ready to embark on a big NBL23, and with the addition of some new faces around him, could we see his best season yet? In the Harbour City, Xavier Cooks is primed to showcase why he is one of the best two-way players in the league. A Championship, Grand Final MVP and NZNBL MVP all in the calendar year, could he add one more MVP to his trophy case? Could Mitch Creek take his Phoenix one step further than their semi-final campaign two seasons ago? Then we have a change of scenery for Robert Franks in Adelaide. Could he cement himself as one of the best big men in the league? What about the return of Aron Baynes to the floor? Will he be as dominant as we expect? Or the excitement machine in Rayjon Tucker at Melbourne United ... could Tucker follow Adams’ footsteps and take out the league’s biggest award in his first taste of the NBL? 

Hooley's top picks: Bryce Cotton (Perth), Xavier Cooks (Sydney), Aron Baynes (Brisbane), Rayjon Tucker (Melbourne), Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne), Robert Franks (Adelaide)

Xavier Cooks. 

Best Defensive Player
Good luck to all those who will be voting on this award come the season’s end. The reigning Best Defensive Player, Antonius Cleveland, returns for NBL23 and will no doubt have eye’s on going back-to-back. He won’t have it easy in doing so with the season’s previous winner, Justin Simon, also returning to the league and set to have plenty to say in that regard. Is there a chance that Simon’s teammate and MVP contender Xavier Cooks could walk away with two major awards? Then there’s the local point guard defensive duo of Shea Ili and Mitch Norton, who don’t always show up on the stat sheet, but have cemented themselves as two of the best defenders around for many years.

The Bullets, Breakers and Hawks have all been vocal about focusing heavily on the defensive end this season, so there may be an opportunity for one of their stars to put their name into this competitive group. And we can’t forget about the JackJumpers. One of the best defensive teams going around last season, and there’s no reason that will be any different when it all begins on Saturday.

Hooley's top picks: Antonious Cleveland (Adelaide), Xavier Cooks (Sydney), Shea Ili (Melbourne), Mitch Norton (Perth), Justin Simon (Sydney)

Antonius Cleveland. 

Most Improved Player
One of the most exciting awards to keep an eye on across the league, as we see so many young players breakout and take a huge leap in their careers. With another big turnover of players in the offseason, there is an abundance of opportunity to be grabbed from many of our brightest stars.

Is Will McDowell-White ready to rise to the occasion and lead a new look Breakers outfit back into finals contention? Could DJ Vasiljevic continue to ride his incredible comeback from an achilles injury and lead the reigning champs on the offensive end? Luke Travers ticked off his biggest goal of being drafted in the NBA, but now comes the real work. Will Travers take another step forward and onto greater things at the end of the season? Or will we see a veteran who has is coming off a couple down seasons, get back to their best and make everyone take notice?

Hooley's top picks: Will McDowell-White (New Zealand), DJ Vasiljevic (Sydney), Luke Travers (Perth), Harry Froling (Brisbane), Kai Sotto (Adelaide)

Luke Travers. 

Best Sixth Man
Another award that is always exciting to follow, due to the forever changing lineups that teams throw out on the floor. Last season we saw one of the leading contenders in Keanu Pinder, lose his eligibility because he was playing well enough to be promoted to a starting role for the Taipans.

Every championship contender relies heavily on having that impact player off the bench. So, who will that be in NBL23. Will Xavier Rathan-Mayes go one step further than his runner-up efforts last season? Or there’s Jack McVeigh who will look to continue to build on his phenomenal preseason performances coming off the bench for the JackJumpers. The reigning champs are ready to unleash Kouat Noi, who arrives full of confidence and ready to have a strong injury free campaign. A return home for exciting guard Izayah Le’Afa could be all that is needed to allow him to flourish in a new Breakers system. And don’t forget about the scoring power of Corey Webster, who now gets to slot alongside Cotton and let his game flourish out west.

Hooley's top picks: Jack McVeigh (Tasmania), Xavier Rathan-Mayes (Melbourne), Izayah Le’Afa (New Zealand), Kouat Noi (Sydney), Corey Webster (Perth)

Xavier Rathan-Mayes.

Rookie of the Year
It's time to look at the exciting young talent that is set to take the NBL by storm in their first season and looms as the early favourite. 

The French sensation Rayan Rupert set social media alight during his games at the Blitz.

With the horrible injury news at both Melbourne club’s from the pre-season, is there an opening for extended opportunity to the young talent?

Hooley's top picks: Rayan Rupert (New Zealand), David Okwera (Melbourne), Junior Madut (South East Melbourne), Sam Waardenburg (Cairns) 

Rayan Rupert. 

Coach of the Year
It’s not often that three quarters of the way through a season there is an award that is practically locked in, but that’s what we had in NBL22 with Scott Roth. The story of the JackJumpers fairytale inaugural season was a testament to the incredible culture that he had created and grew. It did mean, however, that a couple of worthy coaches missed out. You could have made very strong cases for each of them, with the likes of Dean Vickerman and Chase Buford boasting outstanding seasons. Could either of those men lead their team’s back to the top? What about CJ Bruton and James Duncan, who both had full control over their team recruitment in the offseason and are set to turn things around for both their clubs? Or will the new leading man out west, John Rillie, bring the Red Army back to their rightful spot in the playoffs and chase yet another piece of history? 

Hooley's top picks: CJ Bruton (Adelaide), James Duncan (Brisbane), John Rillie (Perth), Chase Buford (Sydney), Dean Vickerman (Melbourne)

James Duncan.