Davis demands MVP voting change

Sydney Kings' guard Kendric Davis wants to see the votes following the NBL's MVP night.

Bryce Cotton claimed his sixth Andrew Gaze Trophy on Monday night with 96 votes, while Davis finished second on 94.

Davis questioned the voting system on social media after the event and even took aim at a former MVP and current expert commentator, Derek Rucker.

At the Finals Launch on Tuesday, he stood firm on his position.

“I want to have a crack at everybody. I want to see the votes, if I’m being honest,” he stated.

“When you give players votes, it can get tricky … but that’s just my opinion. It can go off who likes who, you can’t control that. But that’s how I feel.

“I missed two votes on first team. Humbly speaking, like come on now. Let’s be honest.

“I want to fix the system. I want everything right."

Asked how he would change the system, Davis simply wants to know who voted for who.

“We’ve just got to make it public," he continued.

"We want to know the votes, why you felt how you felt and just have it out there.

“We want to see the people that vote for certain people that you know shouldn’t win it, but you’re just doing it on purpose. That’s all I care about."

After the awards night wrapped up, Davis was on Instagram Live answering questions from fans.

“They didn’t want me to win it from the get-go. They didn’t want me to win MVP from the get-go. Trust me,” he said on his account.

“Why do you think at the beginning of the year … the NBL post said I’m a bad teammate and all this and that?"

The MVP voting system sees the head coach and captain of each club, as well as a panel of experts, vote on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.

The votes are weighted equally between the combined head coaches, combined captains and the panel of experts. Coaches and captains cannot vote for players from their own clubs.

Despite his frustrations, Davis has now moved on.

“Just win something that they can’t vote on … that’s how I look at it," he said.

“Just win a Championship … that’s all that matters ... If you asked Bryce, "would he trade that MVP for a Championship?" I think everybody would agree they would.”

On Tuesday, the NBL confirmed its stance on the existing voting system.
"The NBL consistently reviews its processes to ensure that it maintains the highest standards and makes changes when necessary. There are no plans to change the MVP voting process at this time."