'It was the moment of the season': MVP's huge call

The Hungry Jack's NBL26 Season has been full of incredibly exciting moments.

From Nick Marshall's game winner to get Tasmania home against Sydney, to Adelaide's incredible comeback to defeat Perth at RAC Arena, capped by a shot by Flynn Cameron at the death, hoops fans have been on the edge of their seats through the opening 15 rounds of the 2025-26 campaign.

As thrilling as those were, 1990 NBL MVP Derek Rucker believes Dejan Vasiljevic's three pointer to sink his former side Sydney was the "moment of the season".

"I think [Vasiljevic's shot] was the moment of the season," Rucker said on Monday's episode of Moments That Mattered, presented by Mitsubishi Motors.

"They (Adelaide) are up three, Bryce [Cotton] draws the double team, kicks it over to DJ who is standing on the Kmart logo.

"Often nowadays, anything near the logo goes into hyperbole mode and people just want to throw it out there. But he was firmly in the middle of the Kmart logo and let that thing fly.

"The [corresponding] eruption from the crowd, combined with DJ's dance, was all just a beautiful thing to see.

"It was a captivating moment, one that truly mattered in this round and one that put a firm imprint on that Adelaide are the team to beat in NBL26."

Another big moment from the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Friday was the performance of Flynn Cameron, who hit 6/7 of his triples on his way to a career high 25 points.

The recent strong play of Cameron, who is averaging career highs in points (11.4), rebounds (4.7), assists (2.7), steals (0.8), blocks (0.2) and field goal percentage (44.6) through the first 23 games of the season, has seen Rucker say he's at the "top of the charts" for this season's Most Improved Player award.

"I have Flynn at the top of the charts now for the Most Improved Player," Rucker said.

"The plays he makes simply helps his team win in big games.

"Adelaide are now 19-4, so if there's any 50-50 calls that must be made on some of these individual awards at the end of the season, it's going to be hard to go against guys like Flynn Cameron, Isaac Humphries and Zylan Cheatham.

"These guys are high level stars, Flynn Cameron is someone coming through at a young age and really establishing himself as an impact player in the league."

The league-leading 36ers next hit the hardwood against Tasmania on Friday from 7.30pm AEDT at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, live on ESPN.