WITH the season complete and the champions crowned in the National Basketball League (NBL)1 East Men’s it is time to take a look at the leaders of some of the most important statistical categories, and how they affected the results as a whole.

The Canberra Gunners were the best side all year and their dominant campaign culminated in a grand final win over the Maitland Mustangs in thrilling fashion. Despite having the best record of any side in the competition, the Gunners were not as dominant in the individual categories as one may think, especially in comparison to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits in the women’s competition, who led the way at a team and individual level.

With that in mind, it is time to recognise those players who excelled in one or multiple facets of the game after an extremely entertaining inaugural season from the competition.

Points per game

Kiwi Gardner (Illawarra Hawks) – 30.8
Branden Jenkins (Albury-Wodonga Bandits) – 25
Lachlan Anderson (Bankstown Bruins) – 24
Tim Coenraad (Illawarra Hawks) – 22.83
Brennan Rymer (Norths Bears) – 21.87

Gardner was able to deliver a herculean campaign across his 20 appearances. While he could not quite get the Hawks over the line, it was through no fault of his own as he continuously put his all into getting Illawarra to a winning score. He attempted the most field goals in the competition by a long stretch, but was still able to put together a reasonable success percentage when shooting (46.66 percent). He was able to surpass 30 points on most weeks and even ticked over 40 on a few occasions. A season-high total of 47 showed his ceiling and he proved a handful for most defenders.

Jenkins was able to show his scoring ability in a shorter campaign, given he only played seven games for the season, which was also the case with Coenraad, who had a short but memorable stint with the Hawks. Anderson was a shining light in a disappointing season for the Bruins, while Rymer rounds out the top five.

Rebounds

Ryan Beisty (Newcastle Falcons) – 11.81
Glenn Morison (Canberra Gunners) – 10.32
Myles Cherry (Newcastle Falcons) – 10
Duom Dawam (Albury-Wodonga Bandits) – 9.59
Callum Jenkins (Central Coast Crusaders) – 9.25

Beisty was the dominant force on the glass and controlled the skies for the entirety of the 2022 season, with no player pulling down more boards than the Falcons big man. It was a massive strength in their game, thanks to Beisty and Cherry getting themselves in the best position to secure another possession for Newcastle. On a couple of occasions, he was able to pull down 20 or more boards, with the opposition unable to box him out consistently.

Morison topped off a terrific campaign with an MVP performance in the grand final, and his placing in the top five showcases his consistency throughout the year, while Cherry rounds out the double-digit rebounders for the year.

Assists

Kiwi Gardner (Illawarra Hawks) – 5.9
Benjamin Kearins (Hills Hornets) – 5.63
Lochlan Hutchison (Sutherland Sharks) – 5.13
Indiana Faithfull (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles) – 4.89
Ryan Beisty (Newcastle Falcons) – 4.41

Gardner’s place at the top of yet another list showcases how massive his 2022 season truly was. Despite leading the league in scoring, he was still able to display his unselfish side and find wide-open teammates more than anyone else in the competition. The ball was in his hands more than any player in the competition, and Gardner made sure not to waste it.

Perhaps the most surprising appearance on this list comes from Beisty, who is also in the top five for his second category. The forward did a bit of everything in season 2022, and was not afraid to get his teammates involved after crashing the boards.