{"id":33656,"date":"2023-02-08T09:08:47","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T23:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/basketball\/?p=33656"},"modified":"2023-02-08T09:08:49","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T23:08:49","slug":"king-of-the-nbl-cooks-claims-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/basketball\/king-of-the-nbl-cooks-claims-mvp\/","title":{"rendered":"King of the NBL, Cooks claims MVP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TUESDAY night saw the National Basketball League (NBL) Awards night take place, with Sydney Kings<\/a> superstar Xavier Cooks<\/a> claiming the league’s highest individual honour – the Andrew Gaze Trophy for the Most Valuable Player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooks was the favourite all season long, having been the best player on the best side in the competition, and although there were others that may have posted more attractive stats, none had as big an impact as the star forward. He averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, proving a constant threat on the defensive end of the court too. Recently, he posted the first NBL triple-double since 2021, and has the skillset to affect a match in a number of ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He racked up 120 votes, with fellow nominees Bryce Cotton<\/a> (96 votes) and Mitch Creek<\/a> (80 votes) finishing in second and third respectively. Cooks and his Kings will now look ahead to their upcoming finals campaign, and having earned the Finals MVP award last season, the star forward will look to carry his form into the postseason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cairns Taipans<\/a> head coach Adam Forde <\/em><\/strong>was rewarded for his team’s drastic turnaround with the Lindsay Gaze Trophy for Coach of the Year. The Taipans finished ninth last season with just five wins next to their name, but have secured a top three finish in 2022\/23, despite having a lot of the same pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not the only piece of silverware for the Taipans on the night, with the Northernmost team having a very busy night. Keanu Pinder<\/a> claimed the NBL’s Most Improved Player Award, becoming the first player in history to win the award twice, having been named last year as well. Sam Waardenberg<\/a> beat out more experienced competition to claim the Next Generation Award, further emphasising the bright future ahead for Cairns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of consecutive wins, Adelaide 36ers<\/a> stopper Antonius Cleveland<\/a> claimed back-to-back Damian Martin Trophies, having made life difficult for some of the league’s most prominent scorers. He is now the eighth player in NBL history to win the award two years in a row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a widely expected result, New Zealand Breakers<\/a> scoring machine Barry Brown Jr.<\/a> took home the NBL’s Best Sixth Man Award, after averaging the third most points in the competition, despite coming off the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out the full results below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Gaze Trophy \u2013 Most Valuable Player \u2013 Presented by Hungry Jack\u2019s<\/strong>
Xavier Cooks (Sydney) – 120 votes
Bryce Cotton (Perth<\/a>) – 96 votes
Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne<\/a>) – 80 votes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Improved Player<\/strong>
Keanu Pinder (Cairns) \u2013 48 votes
William McDowell-White<\/a> (New Zealand) \u2013 46 votes
Sean Macdonald<\/a> (Tasmania<\/a>) \u2013 34 votes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Damian Martin Trophy for the Best Defensive Player<\/strong>
Antonius Cleveland (Adelaide) \u2013 37 votes
Dererk Pardon<\/a> (New Zealand) \u2013 34 votes
Shea Ili<\/a> (Melbourne<\/a>) \u2013 26 votes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Sixth Man \u2013 presented by Marsh<\/strong>
Barry Brown Jr (New Zealand) \u2013 73 votes
Tyler Johnson<\/a> (Brisbane<\/a>) \u2013 41 votes
Rashard Kelly<\/a> (Tasmania) \u2013 26 votes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lindsay Gaze Trophy – Coach of the Year<\/strong>
Adam Forde<\/em><\/strong> (Cairns) \u2013 64 votes
Mody Maor<\/em><\/strong> (New Zealand) \u2013 52 votes
Chase Buford<\/em><\/strong> (Sydney) \u2013 34 votes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next Generation Award \u2013 presented by Champion<\/strong>
Sam Waardenburg (Cairns) \u2013 47 votes
Sam Froling<\/a> (Illawarra<\/a>) \u2013 45 votes
Luke Travers<\/a> (Perth<\/a>) \u2013 24 votes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All-NBL First Team<\/strong>
Xavier Cooks (Sydney) \u2013 54 votes
Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne) \u2013 45 votes
Bryce Cotton (Perth) \u2013 54 votes
Milton Doyle<\/a> (Tasmania) \u2013 42 votes
Derrick Walton Jr<\/a> (Sydney) \u2013 41 votes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All-NBL Second Team<\/strong>
Keanu Pinder (Cairns) \u2013 33 votes
Dererk Pardon (New Zealand) \u2013 22 votes
Barry Brown Jr (New Zealand) \u2013 37 votes
DJ Hogg<\/a> (Cairns) \u2013 30 votes
Chris Goulding<\/a> (Melbourne) \u2013 23 votes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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