Rucker snub sparks Breakers star’s MVP tear

Parker Jackson-Cartwright has stormed into the early MVP conversation, and Derek Rucker helped light the fuse.

The Breakers star was ranked 10th in Rucker’s pre-season Top 15, and admits the slight has driven him through a 3-2 start that few saw coming from New Zealand.

“I didn’t love it,” Jackson-Cartwright told Jason Cadee on basketball.com.au’s Cut to the Jase.

“I told Ruck over the weekend, it is what it is. But to his credit, it definitely motivated me.

“I saw the list, and it told me everything I needed to know about the season. Now it’s fuelling me, for sure.

“Players say they don’t care about it; they’re lying. This is our job. This is our livelihood. It adds a lot more to the fire.”

It’s not the first time a Rucker list has stirred a response. Ranked seventh in 2024, Jackson-Cartwright dropped a career-high 34 points in a Play-In Qualifier win over the Kings, then made a beeline for the former MVP at the commentary desk.

His answer this time has been just as emphatic: 26.6 points, 9.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds a game across five appearances.

Teammate DJ Vasiljevic believes he belongs right in the race.

“You’re not going to decide an MVP in October because there’s still a lot of basketball to be played. But he deserves to be mentioned alongside Bryce [Cotton] and Kendric [Davis],” Vasiljevic said on NBL Now.

“Right now, though, he’s playing at an MVP level.”

Even Rucker has come around, saying on NBL Overtime that Jackson-Cartwright “may be the hottest player in the League” right now.

The next test comes tonight in Perth, where Brandon Knight is set to make his debut for an in-form Wildcats side. Jackson-Cartwright scored 30 against Perth last month and knows what’s coming.

“It’s probably definitely the deepest it’s been at this position (point guard) since I’ve been in the League,” he said.

“Truly not a night off. Iron sharpens iron.

“We have to go in and be ready to play a team that’s probably going to be full strength. But still, we have to focus on us.”

The Breakers face the Wildcats at 9:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN, 9 & 9Now.

Read the full story here >> PJC on MVP chatter and that Rucker 'Top 15' snub