Bryce Cotton Claims Third Andrew Gaze MVP Trophy

Perth Wildcats superstar Bryce Cotton has won his third Andrew Gaze Trophy as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) presented by Hungry Jack’s.
 
Cotton tallied 112 votes after his terrific season, beating out the second placed Tyler Harvey on 74 votes and third placed Nathan Sobey on 55 votes.
 
The honour cements Cotton’s place as one of the NBL’s all-time greats, as he has now won back-to-back MVPs and three of the past four. Cotton was also voted the Fans MVP Presented by Chemist Warehouse.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The moment when Bryce Cotton claimed his third Andrew Gaze MVP Trophy ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheGazeys?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheGazeys</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PerthWildcats</a> <a href="https://t.co/YdWOwsIu3P">pic.twitter.com/YdWOwsIu3P</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1405123004959322114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Along with the MVP, Cotton was also named to the All-NBL First Team Presented by Bunnings Trade. He was joined in the team by Harvey (Illawarra Hawks), Sobey (Brisbane Bullets), John Mooney (Perth) and Jock Landale (Melbourne United).
 
Perth’s sensational season was also rewarded with Trevor Gleeson winning the Lindsay Gaze Trophy for Coach of the Year. Gleeson has magnificently led his Wildcats to the Hungry Jack’s NBL Grand Final as they chase a historic three-peat. It is the first time Gleeson has won Coach of the Year as Wildcats coach.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The winner of the Lindsay Gaze Coach of the Year award, <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PerthWildcats</a> lead man Trevor Gleeson.<br><br>We hear from the man after he claimed the honour for the first time with the Wildcats.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheGazeys?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheGazeys</a> <a href="https://t.co/lW3I8Oue9Z">pic.twitter.com/lW3I8Oue9Z</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1405115692563587072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Illawarra’s Justin Simon was named winner of the Damian Martin Trophy for the Best Defensive Player while his teammate Sam Froling won the Most Improved Player award.
 
NBL Next Star and projected first round NBA draft pick Josh Giddey (Adelaide 36ers) won the Rookie of the Year Presented by Champion, while Melbourne’s Jo Lual-Acuil won the Best Sixth Man Presented by Marsh.
 
The All-NBL Second Team comprised of Finn Delany (Sky Sport New Zealand Breakers), Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne Phoenix), Chris Goulding (Melbourne), Mitch McCarron (Melbourne) and Casper Ware (Sydney Kings).
 
Mark Boyd from United won the inaugural NBL Executive of the Year award, which recognises an NBL club employee who has demonstrated their consistent approach to the betterment of the competition during the season.
 
Kyle Adnam from South East Melbourne won the Gametime by Kmart Community Award, which recognises the player who has had the greatest impact at the schools with the Gametime by Kmart program across the season.
 
Chris Reid won the Referee of the Year Presented by Europcar while ESPN’s Olgun Uluc won the Most Outstanding Media Coverage.
 
Full details of the NBL Awards:
 
Andrew Gaze Trophy – Most Valuable Player – Presented by Hungry Jack’s
Bryce Cotton (Perth) – 112 votes
Tyler Harvey (Illawarra) – 74 votes
Nathan Sobey (Brisbane) – 55 votes
 
Lindsay Gaze Trophy - Coach of the Year
Trevor Gleeson (Perth) – 56 votes
Brian Goorjian (Illawarra) – 42 votes
Dean Vickerman (Melbourne) – 35 votes
 
All-NBL First Team – Presented by Bunnings Trade
John Mooney (Inside) – 46 votes
Jock Landale (Inside) – 42 votes
Bryce Cotton (Outside) – 48 votes
Nathan Sobey (Outside) – 47 votes
Tyler Harvey (Outside) – 46 votes
 
All-NBL Second Team
Mitch Creek (Inside) – 20 votes
Finn Delany (Inside) – 19 votes
Chris Goulding (Outside) – 28 votes
Casper Ware (Outside) – 16 votes
Mitch McCarron (Outside) – 16 votes
 
Rookie of the Year – Presented by Champion
Josh Giddey (Adelaide) – 64 votes
Dejan Vasiljevic (Sydney) – 35 votes
Justinian Jessup (Illawarra) – 27 votes
 
Best Sixth Man – presented by Marsh
Jo Lual-Acuil (Melbourne) – 38 votes
Scotty Hopson (Melbourne) – 33 votes
Kyle Adnam (South East Melbourne) – 27 votes
 
Most Improved Player
Sam Froling (Illawarra) – 50 votes
Jordan Hunter (Sydney) – 39 votes
Finn Delany (New Zealand) – 27 votes
 
Damian Martin Trophy for the Best Defensive Player
Justin Simon (Illawarra) – 56 votes
Tom Abercrombie (New Zealand) – 29 votes
Mitch Norton (Perth) – 26 votes
 
Executive of the Year
Mark Boyd (Melbourne)
 
Fans MVP – Presented by Chemist Warehouse
Bryce Cotton (Perth)
 
Gametime by Kmart Community Award
Kyle Adnam (South East Melbourne)
 
Referee of the Year – Presented by Europcar
Chris Reid
 
Most Outstanding Media Coverage
Olgun Uluc (ESPN)