Providence Friars legend Bryce Cotton has secured his fifth MVP Award in the NBL (National Basketball League) in just his ninth season with the Perth Wildcats in Australia. The prestigious award, named after NBL icon Andrew Gaze, was personally announced and presented to Cotton by Gaze himself. As a seven-time MVP winner, Gaze still holds the all-time record, giving Cotton an ambitious target to chase. With five MVP titles to his name, Cotton now stands second all-time in NBL history.

Over his nine-season career, Cotton has earned a spot on the All-NBL First Team for the past eight consecutive years. As the perfect finishing touch to his stellar season, he was also crowned the Fans’ MVP, solidifying his status as a fan favorite.

Cotton was also the NBL’s scoring champion for the eighth time in his career, averaging 28.6 ppg for the regular season, which was highlighted by a 59-point game (all-time single game scoring record) in December against the New Zealand Breakers. That performance kicked off a stretch of four straight 40+ point games where he tallied 59, 40, 49, & 44. He added 2 more 40+ point games down the stretch, including 49 in the season finale against the Adelaide 36ers. Just note that those six games with forty or more points came in just 29 total games and where they only play 40 minutes per game.