Bryce Cotton's basketball-playing legacy in Australia added another piece of hardware, after the Tucson native was named the National Basketball League's Most Valuable Player.
It's the fourth time the Perth Wildcats star and Palo Verde High School graduate received the Andrew Gaze Trophy, which is the second-most in NBL history behind Gaze, who was MVP of the league seven times. Cotton led the league in scoring and averaged 23.1 points and 4.3 assists per game.
Cotton edged out former Arizona Wildcats point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright (New Zealand Breakers) and Chris Goulding (Melbourne United) in MVP voting. Jackson-Cartwright was named to the All-NBL First Team after averaging 20.2 points and 5.7 assists in his first season. Jackson-Cartwright is in his first season in the NBL after professional stints in Turkey, France, Germany and Great Britain. Jackson-Cartwright averaged 20.4 points, seven assists and 3.5 rebounds and was named German Bundesliga MVP in 2022.
Cotton, who was also named NBL MVP in 2018, 2020 and 2021, and former UA forward Keanu Pinder, a two-time NBL Most Improved Player, led the Perth Wildcats to a 17-11 regular-season record, which is second behind MelBourne United.
