Awards Watch: New Year Edition

Who's leading the race for the league's top awards? Pete Hooley has his say. 

MVP

The biggest and most prestigious award has had conversations heating up over the last few weeks and for good reason. In the past couple of seasons, when it has got to this point in a season, we usually have a runaway top two who are set to battle it out for the honours of being the league’s Most Valuable Player. However, with five rounds left in the regular season, you could make a strong case that any of the five players mentioned below could claim enough votes by the end of the season. Either way, it’s going to be a fascinating watch to end NBL23.

Up to this point in the season –  Xavier Cooks, Mitch Creek and Keanu Pinder have been jostling for favouritism in the MVP race. It’s gone back and forth between these three almost every round and for good reason. If the season were to end today, I could see Mitch Creek just ahead of the other two after his massive performances in December. Creek sits second in the league in scoring at 23.3 points, to go along with 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Xavier Cooks has continued his dominance since returning from a couple of injuries, with 16.8 points per game and 8.2 rebounds, as well as being one of the best defenders in the league. Lastly, whilst Keanu Pinder is currently hurt, he is still one of the leading contenders with almost 18ppg and 10 rebounds.

As mentioned above, with five rounds left, this award could be anyone’s. Bryce Cotton is arguably having a better statistical year than any of his previous MVP seasons. With Perth starting to string together wins, he is absolutely in the conversation and I’d envision could end the season top two in voting. Lastly, Milton Doyle the 'silent assassin' down south. What a season he has put together for Tasmania and continues to be one of the best clutch performers across NBL23. 17.2 points per game, five rebounds and three assists are great numbers in this league, but it’s his ability to consistently come up big when it matters that should have his name mentioned with the league’s best. 

In the mix
Mitch Creek
Xavier Cooks
Keanu Pinder
Bryce Cotton
Milton Doyle

Mitch Creek.

Most Improved Player

There will be a lot of people who believe after you have won this award previously, that you shouldn’t win it again. Usually, I would agree. However, Keanu Pinder’s emergence and improvement has to be recognized once again this season. From 4.8ppg and four rebounds two seasons ago in Adelaide, to 10.9ppg and 7.6 rebounds last year, to now being close to the other player in the league averaging a double-double at 18 and 10 ... Pinder has to be considered the front runner for the most improved player in the league. 

He won’t be without company down the stretch of the season, though. There have been several players in NBL23 who have taken their game to a new level. It’s not often a development player gets much opportunity at all during the regular season, let alone break into the rotation. Further to that, it’s almost unheard of that a development player will become a leading contributor on a finals team. Yet that is exactly what we have with Sean Macdonald down in Tasmania. After seeing limited minutes in just eight games last season, Macdonald is averaging 6.5ppg and shooting almost 40 per cent from three. Whether he can win an award or not is one thing, but in the end, he’s going to land himself a well-earned deal in NBL24 and beyond.  

In the mix
Keanu Pinder
Sean Macdonald
Tanner Krebs
Izayah Le’Afa
Jack McVeigh

Keanu Pinder.

Best Defensive Player

What I love most about this award is that it goes well beyond the raw numbers of defensive statistics. The fact it’s named after the legend Damian Martin, is proof of just how defenders can impact a game without necessarily leading the league in steals or blocks. For that reason, Dererk Pardon comes to mind as one of those players who has been the foundation for one of the best defensive teams in the NBL. He’s averaging 8.4 rebounds and just over one block per game, but it’s his ability to switch onto smaller guards and alter shots that has him in the conversation. 

Two other players who are no strangers to this award, having won it previously, have put together incredibly strong campaigns once again for their teams. Justin Simon and Antonious Cleveland have both shown the ability to change the momentum of games with their defensive efforts and getting out in transition on the other end. I also want to give some love to Isaac Humphries, who at one point during his first season with Adelaide, was the running away with this award. Humphries had six games with three or more blocks on the season, including his six blocks on Christmas Day. 

In the mix
Justin Simon
Dererk Pardon
Antonious Cleveland
Xavier Cooks
Isaac Humphries
DJ Hogg

Justin Simon. 

Best Sixth Man

Last time we checked in with the awards, I mentioned that Barry Brown Jr had this one seemingly locked up. A month on and that hasn’t changed much. Brown Jr sits third in the league in scoring at 20.6 points and has been one of the most electrifying guards in the NBL this season. Whilst I say that he is the likely winner of the best sixth man, it will be quite interesting to see what players become eligible for this down the stretch of the season. Players like Xavier Rathan-Mayes who had an enormous first half of the season as a starter, have no moved to the bench and will likely be eligible for this in a few weeks. Similarly, there’s those like Luke Travers who played the majority of the season off the bench but is now starting and playing well, who could still find himself eligible by end of season.

In the mix
Barry Brown Jr
Xavier Rathan-Mayes
Luke Travers
Rashard Kelly
Tyler Johnson
Marcus Lee

Barry Brown Jr. 

Rookie of the Year

I’ve been petitioning hard for this award in particular to get an overhaul, and I may be getting my way sooner rather than later. The reason being, is that as it stands in terms of criteria needed to be met to be eligible, we are forgetting many young guns who are deserving of the recognition. If we were going to highlight the best rookie’s in NBL23 as it sits now, then Sam Waardenburg would likely get the nod after his fantastic season up in Cairns. Even with a change in criteria, he will still be receiving a lot of votes for his big efforts as a first year professional.

With all the injuries at South East Melbourne, Junior Madut is enjoying an increased opportunity and is taking it with both hands. Jaylin Galloway is another who has enjoyed more opportunity as the season rolls on and has become a staple in the rotation of a packed Sydney Kings team. 

Stay tuned for updates here…

In the mix
Sam Waardenburg
Jaylin Galloway
David Okwera
Junior Madut

Sam Waardenburg. 

Coach of the Year

Once again, good luck to the coaches and captains when it comes to voting for this. In the end, the last five weeks of the season will be needed in deciding who should be the Coach of the Year. Right now, you could make a strong case for Chase Buford, as his team sits top of the table and when they are at full strength look incredibly tough to beat. All this must consider the fact that the reigning champions had no hangover entering NBL23 and stamped their authority across the league very early in the season.

Then there is Mody Maor and Adam Forde, whose teams were both anchored to the bottom of the ladder at the end of NBL22. This season they have both been revelations to not only their teams, but to their respective organisations, and both should be on their way to well-deserved contract extensions. It’s not often you find two coaches who epitomize the team they are in charge of, but after seeing how they have performed this season, it’s almost impossible to argue that these two men need to be locked away for the foreseeable future.

In the mix
Mody Maor
Adam Forde
Chase Buford
Scott Roth