Bryce Cotton is now a three-time NBL MVP, with the Perth Wildcats superstar winning the Andrew Gaze Trophy for the league's Most Valuable Player over the 2021 season.
The award makes it back-to-back wins for Cotton, who tallied 112 votes, and his third in four years as the American guard continues to solidify his place as one of the best players in NBL history.
The Illawarra Hawks' Tyler Harvey finished second to Cotton in the MVP race with 74 votes, while the Brisbane Bullets' Nathan Sobey came in third with 55 votes.
That trio of dynamic guards headlined the All-NBL First Team, joining John Mooney and Jock Landale, who were selected as that group's 'inside players'.
The Adelaide 36ers' Next Star, Josh Giddey, ran away with the NBL's Rookie of the Year award, a year after LaMelo Ball won the trophy as part of the program. Giddey, the Australian point guard, is a projected lottery pick for the 2021 NBA Draft after averaging 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and a league-leading 7.6 assists per game. Giddey, 18, became the youngest player in NBL history to record three triple-doubles in a season.
The Perth Wildcats' Trevor Gleeson won the Lindsay Gaze Trophy for Coach of the Year, just edging out the Hawks' Brian Goorjian by leading his overachieving team to a 25-11 record over the course of the season. The Wildcats are in the NBL Grand Final, with the hopes of completing a three-peat.
While Goorjian wasn't able to walk away with his seventh Coach of the Year award, the Hawks still managed to take in some silverware. Justin Simon won the Damian Martin Award for the league's Best Defensive Player, thanks to his consistency and versatility on the defensive end of the floor, while Sam Froling was named the NBL's Most Improved Player, beating out Sydney's Jordan Hunter for the nod.
Melbourne United, who just booked a spot against the Wildcats in the Grand Final, had one player win a major award, with Lual-Acuil named the league's Best Sixth Man. The big-man came off the bench for 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.
The All-NBL Second Team was: Finn Delany (New Zealand Breakers), Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne Phoenix), Chris Goulding (Melbourne United), Mitch McCarron (Melbourne United), and Casper Ware (Sydney Kings).
United's Mark Boyd was named the NBL's Executive of the Year.
Every 2021 NBL Award Winner:
MVP
Bryce Cotton (Perth) - 112 votes
Tyler Harvey (Illawarra) - 74 votes
Nathan Sobey (Brisbane) - 55 votes
Coach of the Year
Trevor Gleeson (Perth) - 56 votes
Brian Goorjian (Illawarra) - 42 votes
Dean Vickerman (Melbourne) - 35 votes
All-NBL First Team
John Mooney (Inside) - 46 votes
Jock Landale (Inside) - 42 votes
Bryce Cotton (Outside) - 48 votes
Nathan Sobey (Outside) - 47 votes
Tyler Harvey (Outside) - 46 votes
All-NBL Second Team
Mitch Creek (Inside) - 20 votes
Finn Delany (Inside) - 19 votes
Chris Goulding (Outside) - 28 votes
Casper Ware (Outside) - 16 votes
Mitch McCarron (Outside) - 16 votes
Rookie of the Year
Josh Giddey (Adelaide) - 64 votes
Dejan Vasiljevic (Sydney) - 35 votes
Justinian Jessup (Illawarra) - 27 votes
Best Sixth Man
Jo Lual-Acuil (Melbourne) - 38 votes
Scotty Hopson (Melbourne) - 33 votes
Kyle Adnam (South East Melbourne) - 27 votes
Most Improved Player
Sam Froling (Illawarra) - 50 votes
Jordan Hunter (Sydney) - 39 votes
Finn Delany (New Zealand) - 27 votes
Best Defensive Player
Justin Simon (Illawarra) - 56 votes
Tom Abercrombie (New Zealand) - 29 votes
Mitch Norton (Perth) - 26 votes
Executive of the Year
Mark Boyd (Melbourne)