Bryce Cotton wins 4th Andrew Gaze Trophy at NBL Awards

Bryce Cotton walked away from the NBL's annual awards night as the big winner, adding the 2023-24 Most Valuable Player trophy to his ever-growing collection.

The win marks the fourth time Cotton has won the Andrew Gaze Trophy, putting him second all-time; only behind the award's namesake, Gaze, who won seven over the course of his career.

Cotton finished the regular season as the league's scoring champion, averaging 23.1 points and 4.3 assists per game for the second-placed Wildcats. He adds the 2024 MVP to those he won in 2018, 2020, and 2021.

Cotton was the favourite to win the award going into Monday evening's event, and the final vote tally confirmed as much; the Perth Wildcats guard finished with 118 votes, beating out Chris Goulding (53 votes) and Parker Jackson-Cartwright (50 votes).

The trio of Cotton, Goulding, and Jackson-Cartwright led the All-NBL First Team selection, along with Anthony Lamb and Gary Clark.

While Cotton is a very familiar face within the MVP race, there was a first-time winner in another.

Shea Ili -- widely regarded as the NBL's most tenacious perimeter defender -- won his first career Best Defensive Player award. He was the head of the snake for a Melbourne United team that finished with the best defence (109.2 points allowed per 100 possessions) in the league, while consistently being tasked with guarding the oppositions most potent offensive threat.

Ili earned 59 votes, ahead of Will Magnay (36 votes) and Sam McDaniel (34 votes).

Dean Vickerman won the NBL's Coach of the Year award, with Melbourne United at the top of the league's ladder for the vast majority of the season. United finished as the No. 1 team on the ladder, with the best defence in the league and a top-3 offence (116.4 points per 100 possessions. The 2023-24 award marks the third time Vickerman has been named Coach of the Year (2018, 2019). Vickerman's 58 beat out the Illawarra Hawks' Justin Tatum (52 votes) and Wildcats' John Rillie (25 votes).

United's prominence throughout the awards evening on Monday was continued by Ian Clark, who walked away as the league's Best Sixth Man. Clark averaged 13.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists off the bench for the league-leading United, while shooting an impressive 43.1 percent from downtown. Clark (73 votes) beat out Magnay (29 votes) and Macdonald (28 votes) for the award.

Macdonald didn't walk away empty-handed, though, with the Tasmania JackJumpers guard named the NBL's Most Improved Player. Macdonald averaged 7.4 points and 2.3 assists per game, up from 6.3 points and 1.5 assists a contest last NBL season.

Macdonald's 48 votes won him the award, edging out Jaylin Galloway (40 votes) and Tyrell Harrison (36 votes).

One of the tightest races was the Next Generation Award, given to the best player under 25.

Sam Froling won the award, averaging a career-high 14.6 points, to go with 7.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game for the Hawks. Froling's 51 votes were enough to see him win the league's newest award, with Luke Travers (28 votes) and Alex Sarr (27 votes) the next best.

The All-NBL Second Team featured: Jack McVeigh, Jo Lual Acuil Jr., Milton Doyle, Mitch Creek, and Nathan Sobey.

The awards were voted on by the league's head coaches, assistant coaches, and captains in the final weeks of the season.

Every 2024 NBL Award Winner

MVP

Bryce Cotton (Perth): 118 votes

Chris Goulding (Melbourne): 53 votes

Parker Jackson-Cartwright (New Zealand): 50 votes

Coach of the Year

Dean Vickerman (Melbourne): 58 votes

Justin Tatum (Illawarra): 52 votes

John Rillie (Perth): 25 votes

Most Improved Player

Sean Macdonald (Tasmania): 48 votes

Jaylin Galloway (Sydney): 40 votes

Tyrell Harrison (Brisbane: 36 votes

Best Sixth Man

Ian Clark (Melbourne): 73 votes

Will Magnay (Tasmania): 29 votes

Sean Macdonald (Tasmania): 28 votes

Defensive Player of the Year

Shea Ili (Melbourne): 59 votes

Will Magnay (Tasmania): 36 votes

Sam McDaniel (Brisbane): 34 votes

Next Generation Award

Sam Froling (Illawarra): 51 votes

Luke Travers (Melbourne): 28 votes

Alexandre Sarr (Perth): 27 votes

All-NBL First Team

Bryce Cotton (Perth): 54 votes

Chris Goulding (Melbourne): 47 votes

Gary Clark (Illawarra): 47 votes

Anthony Lamb (New Zealand): 44 votes

Parker Jackson-Cartwright (New Zealand): 38 votes

All-NBL Second Team

Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne): 30 votes

Nathan Sobey (Brisbane): 29 votes

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (Melbourne): 26 votes

Milton Doyle (Tasmania): 26 votes

Jack McVeigh (Tasmania): 21 votes

Executive of the Year

Nick Truelson (Melbourne)