Bryce. KD. Don’t forget PJC

At the midway point of the Hungry Jack’s NBL25 Season, Derek Rucker announced his top 15 players in the league.Who claimed the top spot?

It wasn’t Bryce Cotton. One of the all-time greats landed at number four, still warming into the season.

It wasn’t Kendric Davis either. The then Adelaide 36ers guard came in at number 12, with his best still ahead.

Leading the pack was Parker Jackson-Cartwright, with Rucker declaring he was playing the best basketball in the league at that point in time.

With averages of 16.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists, the Breakers’ dynamic import was setting the pace.

New Zealand surged into the mid-season FIBA break with a 7-3 record, defying expectations, and PJC was the engine behind it all.

The second half of the season didn’t unfold the way he or the Breakers had hoped, but now it’s a clean slate - and Jackson-Cartwright is ready to remind the league why he was number one.

While Cotton and Davis dominated the off-season chatter, the Breakers quietly locked in one of the league’s most elite guards.

“It’s fun. This is basketball at its peak, at its highest level,” Jackson-Cartwright said during an NBL Now Special.

“As a competitor, you want those challenges. I think it brings the best out of you. Iron sharpens iron. I've had some good battles with Kendric Davis and Bryce Cotton.

“There seems to be a guy at the guard position every season who can really bring it. I embrace that. I think those other guys do as well. Let's get it. It's going to be fun.”

Fresh off signing a new two-year deal, Jackson-Cartwright has embraced life in New Zealand and is aiming to follow in Cotton’s footsteps by building a legacy of consistency and impact in the NBL.

“That guy, you think he's going to slow down, but he doesn't,” he said of the five-time MVP.

“You throw whatever at him and he just keeps going. That is greatness. He's been doing it for so long. He's put his work in. He's paid his dues. That is the result of a guy who puts everything into the game of basketball.

“I'm very lucky and blessed to have this (a long-term tenure at one club), because it's kind of unusual in this overseas business to be with a club this long.

“I mean, Bryce has done it, but that's very rare. Guys like Tom Abercrombie, he did it for twenty something years. That’s very rare.

“I figured at this point in my career and in my life, it just fits so well with how my lifestyle is and where I want to play basketball. I don't think there's any better match for myself than being a Kiwi per se. I'm excited to be there for another two years for sure.”

And he’s determined to lead a proud club back to the top, one that’s rich in history but now chasing its first title in ten years. 

“In New Zealand and at the Breakers as a club and organisation, I think we get undervalued maybe in the eyes of some people and some fans. They don't always give us the respect,” Jackson-Cartwright added.

“They don't always put us in those conversations of being a top team. So regardless of anything, we have to go out there and prove it each and every night.”

Jackson-Cartwright’s talent speaks for itself. He’s already earned his place among the league’s elite.

But when the moment comes to face Kendric and Bryce, expect PJC to rise to the occasion and put on a show.