Casper would've run away with MVP if the season started when Prather went down

Casper would probably get it if it weren't a game-by-game vote

Actually, Casper is my pick. The more I think about it, the more I like it

Ware's got the worst FG % of the top 40 scorers in the league, he only shoots 37.7%.

IMO, you can't give a guy league MVP that doesn't even shoot 38% from the field.

Vaughn Mayberry

Maybe so, but with the game-to-game voting system, his cumulative FG% doesn't tell the whole story. Haven't checked the game logs, but I know when he was bad he was really bad but when he's been good he's been really good.

That's the thing about topics like this... people may make their MVP predictions based on a one-off end-of-season decision, others may base it on the game-by-game system the NBL implements. It's just like voting at your local/state/federal election... do people vote for pollies who will impact their own individual lives most, or do people vote for the greater good?

Ware winning it would be a massive surprise. Boone the one who may go close IMO.

How about the grown man - Tai Wesley - he has been in awesome form - scoring, rebounds and assists

Randle would wrap it up if he had a full season.

Trice has been the pick of the point guards imo. Can't see an MVP coming from a bottom 2 team though.

I think it's between Conger, Tokoto and Boone.

Trice's vote catching form clearly dried up from the moment I backed him early Jan.

On cue.

Brad Rosen: Demitrius Conger

James Harvey: Bryce Cotton

Lachy Reid: Demitrius Conger

Steve Carfino: Demitrius Conger

Casey Frank: JP Tokoto

http://www.nbl.com.au/news/article/40063-who-is-the-nbls-most-valuable-player

Not that I think either should be MVP anyway, but surely Cotton & Tokoto will steal enough votes from each other to ensure that neither can get it

Best aussie on a team where the imports dont overshadow him, ill take mitch creek. Cant say im happy suggesting it but hes my smokey

"Prather was probably an outside chance before he got injured"
Say what?
If you did a Brownlow style reveal, I'd be shocked if he wasn't in front at the time he got injured.

I honestly think JP is in with a shot.
But, and I don't know exactly how the voting works, but it may hold him back that he's played some of his most outstanding BBl in losing games.

(He's a shoe-in for the Cats award anyway.)

Chris Goulding has it on lock

With how the voting works, I think Conger gets it.

Conger right up there.

Going around the Clubs, the contenders would be:

Adelaide: Creek, Johnson, Sobey
Brisbane: Buford, Trice, Kickert
Cairns: Carerra, Gliddon, Loughton
Illawarra: Conger, Clarke, Olgivy
Melbourne: Goulding, Prather, Ware
New Zealand: Sosa, Sosa, Sosa
Perf: Cotton, Tokoto, Wagstaff/Walker
Sydney: Cadee, Newley, Randle

Injuries would have affected a lot of player's chances. Based on voting process, my top 5 contenders would be (in Alphabetical order):

Conger, Cotton, Sosa, Tokoto, Ware

There isn't a clear stand out like. Just lots of solid contributors so it's hard to pick.

Meant to say like previous seasons

All I know is that Cotton had better not win it.
I put a few bucks on him before the season at very generous odds, and then cashed it out at a nice profit early in the new year when I felt pretty sure was not going to win it.
But looking around the candidates ... it's pretty uninspiring to me. Really no standouts. It's not "which of these great players do we give it to?" as much as "how do we justify one of these good players being MVP?"
I'm not 100% tied to the idea that an MVP must come from a playoff team, but if he's going to come from a .400 team then he'd want to be seriously dominant, which Conger isn't really, but like many others I like his chances. (And if he does, it would still be better than that sad year when Conklin won it)

@luc Cotton isnt close to MVP like he isnt close to his $600k salary!

Did I hear Casey Frank explain the voting system as, "THE OPPOSITION COACH(singular) awards 10-votes divied up ... "?

So according to Casey's word usage, "THE OPPOSITION COACH", then in Hawks v 36ers Beveridge will cast 10-votes choosing just from 36ers players and Wright will cast 10-votes choosing just from Hawks players. Would that be correct?

I've now heard it explained in a few different ways, without consistent meaning. It took 25-years of hearing half baked explanations before I finally understood the off-side rule in soccer and now I have the same problem with this.

Frank was wrong. Coaches allocate points to either team.

Neilsen was voting exclusively for Wildcats players early last season, apparently due to a miscommunication about the system.

Often the coach will delegate to an assistant.

Surprised virtually no one has suggested Sosa though looking at the stats he's only averaged about 15 PPG. Not much competition for him in NZ though.

Cotton and Conger have scored well and at decent percentages. Cotton's played a couple of extra games though.

Conger is my pick though.

The 3rd contender for Perth would probably be Angus Brandt. But he is so far off the JPT/Cotton pace it is irrelevant anyway.

Childress would be more of a look in than Sobey IMO.

One of the first years in recent memory where there isn't really an outstanding player or two to choose from. I've seen about 5-6 legit cases for different players. I think even one of the commentators said Bryce Cotton was in with a shot even though he didn't have him in either his first or second NBL team!!

That's another reason why I don't like the voting format. Should be a 3-2-1 (or 5-4-3-2-1) format voted on by media outlets/journalists and/or referees after each game. I prefer the media approach. Have guys like Boti, Liam Santamaria, andthefoul.net aswell as other media outlets, including maybe commentators vote for the award. I would propose 3 different 'Journalists' to attend and vote on every game throughout the season. For a 6ers home game for example, we could have Boti, a 2nd media outlet, and John Casey voting for their game MVP's. These votes would be separate, so each voter gets their own 3-2-1 and collab them together.

This would stop team and personal bias. Do we really think Joey Wright is giving Perth players votes after the skirmish in the jungle last week. Emotions would be high and I don't think he would be giving Perth players the votes they probably deserved for that game.
It would also stop poor miscommunications like Matty Nielsen last year.


My vote for MVP is Tai Wesley

I guess the thing that can be said for coaches doing it is their intimate knowledge of what is going on - player roles, leadership/big moments, etc. Whereas journos might be too inclined to fall back on what the stats columns say, which is wrong IMO.

In AFL I suspect umpires are now peeking at stats, which could easily explain why key position players are not getting more of a look in.

By club I think
Adelaide . Mitch Creek
Brisbane . Travis Trice
Cairns. Mitch McCarron
Illawarra. Demetrius Conger
Melbourne. Josh Boone
New Zealand. Edgar Sosa
Perth. Bryce Cotton
Sydney. Jerome Randle

Conger to win

Not Daniel Johnson in place of Creek at 36ers?

DJ - 16.4p, 7.1r, 2.4a, 44.7% fg, 30.9% 3pt

Creek - 14.4p, 5.1r, 2.5a, 1.3s, 64.7% fg

I think you've got to give it to DJ.

Hogwash's list looks on target to me. Adelaide's probably the team where votes could be spread.

I am surprised Josh Boone does not get a mention here the guy is a beast.

Have guys like Boti...This would stop team and personal bias.

On contenders by club, this is off IMO:

Adelaide: Creek, Johnson, Sobey