'Raised the bar': Cotton's incredible NBL legacy

22 Sep 2026

adelaide 36ers

perth wildcats

Six-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton will play is 300th game on Thursday, when Adelaide plays Perth.

By

NBL.com.au

Greatness in sport can be measured in different ways.

From the level of impact one has on an organisation to accolades on the court; Bryce Cotton epitomizes it all and more.

Through 299 career games, the six-time MVP has put together one of the most impressive resumes that the NBL has ever seen, and as he returns to Perth to reach his special milestone, the humble superstar is playing down the occasion.

"I stay in a moment, and I think when you're always focussed on what's coming next, you don't really have much time to stop and smell the roses," Cotton said.

"300 games does kind of tell me I've been in this League for a little bit of time now."

Now an Australian citizen, Cotton enters this season just one MVP trophy away from tying the legendary Andrew Gaze with seven, a feat that many thought would be impossible.

When Cotton first arrived in Perth in the middle of the 2017 season, he took the Wildcats from the bottom back to the top and claimed his first title, along with a Grand Final MVP trophy.

The man who brought Cotton over in 2017 was Trevor Gleeson, who is now Cotton's coach in Adelaide.

"It's so ironic, isn't it?" Gleeson said.

"Everything is centred around Perth when those happen.

"I was very fortunate to see his first NBL game. I think he dropped 27 points in Sydney and a win.

"It's a blessing to be able now coaching him in his 300th game.

"He's just been a quality player, quality person. He's raised the bar for imports in this League for the last nine years, and it's great that the Red Army get to see him on his 300th, even though it's the opposition."

During their time together in Perth, Cotton and Gleeson won three Hungry Jack's NBL championships.