Cheatham and Cotton among MVP nominees

Adelaide 36ers Bryce Cotton and Zylan Cheatham have been named amongst the nominees for the NBL’s MVP award, the Andrew Gaze Trophy.

11 players were shortlisted for the award, with the winner to be announced at next Monday’s Andrew Gaze MVP Awards Night in Melbourne.

Cotton is enjoying a career-best season in his first campaign with the Sixers, setting a new record for the most points scored in a single season during the modern 40-minute era, at an average of 25.7 points per game.

With one game remaining, Cotton joins Shane Heal as the only players in NBL history to have made 100 three pointers and 200 assists in a regular season.

He leads the league for scoring, assists (7.6 per game), free throws made (5.9 per game) and three-point made (3.3 per game) while also averaging 3.6 rebounds per game.

It would be his sixth career MVP win, and third straight.

Cheatham is the league’s leading rebounder, pulling down 326 rebounds at an average of 10.2 per game. That is the most by any Adelaide 36er in the modern 40-minute era.

The dynamic forward has excited crowds across the competition with his explosive dunking, big blocks and team-first mentality.

He is averaging a double double in NBL26 with 11.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game to go with 4.1 assists per game.

The other MVP candidates are John Brown III (South East Melbourne), Xavier Cooks (Sydney), Kendric Davis (Sydney), Kristian Doolittle (Perth), Bryce Hamilton (Tasmania), Parker Jackson-Cartwright (New Zealand), JaVale McGee (Illawarra), Jack McVeigh (Cairns), and Nathan Sobey (South East Melbourne).

Fellow 36ers Flynn Cameron and Nick Rakocevic are also among those nominated for league-wide awards.

Cameron’s impressive first season for the Sixers has seen him nominated as one of six players in the Most Improved Player category, while Rakocevic is one of five nominated as the Best Sixth Man.

Nominees for the MVP, Next Generation Award, Best Sixth Man, Damian Martin Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Improved Player were determined by an expert panel featuring Andrew Gaze, Olgun Uluc, Derek Rucker, Michael Cedar and John Casey.

Following this, coaches and captains from each of the 10 teams cast their votes, with individuals unable to vote for players from their own club. The NBL will reveal the three finalists in each category following the conclusion of voting.

Other awards to be handed out on the night include the Lindsay Gaze Trophy for Coach of the Year, the Fans’ MVP, the Gametime by Kmart Award, the Executive of the Year and Referee of the Year.

The Andrew Gaze MVP Awards Night will be broadcast on Disney+ and Kayo from 7:30pm AEDT on Monday 23 February.

The nominees are:

Andrew Gaze Trophy for Most Valuable Player
John Brown III (South East Melbourne)
Zylan Cheatham (Adelaide)
Xavier Cooks (Sydney)
Bryce Cotton (Adelaide)
Kendric Davis (Sydney)
Kristian Doolittle (Perth)
Bryce Hamilton (Tasmania)
Parker Jackson-Cartwright (New Zealand)
JaVale McGee (Illawarra)
Jack McVeigh (Cairns)
Nathan Sobey (South East Melbourne)

Most Improved Player
Josh Bannan (Tasmania)
Flynn Cameron (Adelaide)
Owen Foxwell (South East Melbourne)
Makuach Maluach (Sydney)
Nick Marshall (Tasmania)
Sam Mennenga (New Zealand)

Best Sixth Man
Majok Deng (Tasmania)
Angus Glover (South East Melbourne)
Will Hickey (Illawarra)
Kouat Noi (Sydney)
Nick Rakocevic (Adelaide)

Damian Martin Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year
John Brown III (South East Melbourne)
Xavier Cooks (Sydney)
Kristian Doolittle (Perth)
Bul Kuol (Sydney)
Will Magnay (Tasmania)
Nick Marshall (Tasmania)
Tyson Walker (Melbourne)

Next Generation Award
Owen Foxwell (South East Melbourne)
Jaylin Galloway (Sydney)
Ben Henshall (Perth)
Karim Lopez (New Zealand)
Sam Mennenga (New Zealand)