List of National Basketball League (Australia) awards explained

The National Basketball League (NBL) presents 8 annual awards to recognize its teams, players, and coaches for their accomplishments. This does not include the NBL championship trophy, which is given to the winning team of the NBL Grand Final.

As of the 2023–24 season, coaches and captains from each team, and a panel of experts, vote for the MVP, while the head coach, assistant coach and captain of each team vote for the Coach of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Next Generation Award and All-NBL Teams.[1]

Team trophies

Individual awards

AwardCreatedDescriptionMost recent winner(s)
Most Valuable Player
(Andrew Gaze Trophy)
1979Awarded to the best performing player of the NBL regular season.Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
Grand Final Most Valuable Player
(Larry Sengstock Medal)
1979Awarded to the best performing player of the NBL Grand Final.Derrick Walton (Sydney Kings)
Fans MVP2016Awarded to the best performing player of the NBL regular season, as voted on by fans.Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
Best Defensive Player1980Awarded to the best defensive player of the NBL regular season.Shea Ili (Melbourne United)
Best Sixth Man1996Awarded to the best performing reserve player (or sixth man) of the NBL regular season.Ian Clark (Melbourne United)
Most Improved Player1988Awarded to the most improved player of the NBL regular season.Sean Macdonald (Tasmania JackJumpers)
Next Generation2023Awarded to the best under-25 prospect of the NBL regular season.Sam Froling (Illawarra Hawks)
Coach of the Year
(Lindsay Gaze Trophy)
1980Awarded to the best coach of the NBL regular season.Dean Vickerman (Melbourne United)

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NBL24 MVP finalists revealed. NBL.com.au. 19 February 2024. 19 February 2024.
  2. Web site: RANDLE, LISCH HEADLINE ALL-NBL TEAMS. NBL.com.au. 17 February 2016. 17 February 2016.