Sobey's great play has put him in the conversation. But how valuable is a player if their team misses the playoffs?
IMO they can still be an MVP, but they'd want to be head-and-shoulders clear of any playoff-bound candidates.
If I was voting I'd be waiting until the standings were locked in.

Harvey before Sobey - and he's not close either.

It will be a travesty if Cotton gets passed over for the award for the second time...

In some sense I meant officially, but also public perception/thoughts.

And a bit hazy on exact wording/rules behind the award but think I have the gist.. coaches and captains awarding points.. season based, rather than per game.. which is what promoted me to look at the season stats to see Sobey showing up nicely.

I also only caught a random sampling of games but in the Brisbane games I happened to catch he looked pretty good in all of them and had some good plays down the stretch in each, (while just about every game I saw with Casper bar about one it was the opposite).

Mooney - consistency, Wildcats would have likely missed playoffs without his calibre of performance, double double frequency well outside the norm

Landale - decent numbers overall, when on fire really scorches the opposition, some lack of consistency/immaturity counts against him? Not always exactly what you want in crunch moments

Harvey - pretty consistent, almost always a threat, carries his team

Sobey - good stats, pretty consistent, perhaps hurt by Brisbanes percentage.. too many times blown out of the water - but is that on Sobey?

Cotton - healthy all season, no question who should get it, just hurt a little by having some of the last half-dozen games show up worse than those earlier in the season, but has to be appreciated the travel load, amount the defence concentrates on him etc. Being able to up his assist game when shooting percentage fell partially counteracts.

For me I wouldn't be surprised if any of the above got it, or feel that it would be grossly unfair to the others. All in with a shot.

I think of the last 7 or so times it has been awarded I've only agreed with the call when it went to Cotton ;) Bogut for me in 18-19 was a no ;)

harvey imo

COTY - I know you can't do this - but whoever wins the grand final.

If you won't allow that fudge then between Gleeson and Goorj.

Not that I can identify equal brilliance on court or in their systems with the Hawks - Gleeson definitely wins there - but both probably equally got more out of their teams than expected for the year. Gleeson probably robbed many years in a row because people just put things down to "Wildcats basketball" rather than "Gleeson basketball", but I think recruiting and play this year, alongside other years, must show he has a lot to do with it.

Ultimately so many championships under Gleeson's tenure that he is the best and most consistent coach of the last 10 years and it's daylight to the rest.

John Mooney is the MVP for me

The All-NBL teams are picked with three outside and two inside players, not one from each of the traditional five positions (which have become increasingly meaningless over the past several years).

"The All-NBL teams are picked with three outside and two inside players,"

Yes, correct, although they still mostly come up with a good spread and usually an exceptional starting 5.

I think if you looked at this purely on results/output, and judged it across all 36 games, then Sobey would indeed pip Cotton.
However, I feel that a few things still tip it in Cottons favour:
Cotton has been targeted all season, by coaches with a "stop Cotton = stop Perth mentality". Obviously everyone tries to shut Sobey down too, but not to the same level.
Cotton's ability to lift his team, and to come through when needed, remains the best in the league.
Whilst obviously we never want to see the ward go to somebody who has played only half the season, there may still be a slight attitude of "the best player is still the best player."
There will be some sympathy for Cotton.

Also, IMHO, Mooney is right there in contention.

For mine, all NBL:

Cotton
Sobey
Harvey
Mooney
Landale

Machado
Ware
Creek
DJ
Sam Froling

Cotton the MVP

Leading contenders otherwise are Mooney, Landale, Harvey, Sobey, Creek and Ware.

How is Mooney not a finalist?
Is it restricted to one nominee per team?

Odd that Adnam started 17 games and was nominated for 6th man.

Would've thought Ben Moore would be nominated.

Although it's telling that the top 4 candidates for 6th man are from the two Melbourne teams. Speaks volumes of how they've battled injuries this season, showcasing their depth and both finishing top 4. Probably the two most talented rosters in the competition, I'm gonna hold onto my optimism and keep hoping somehow they make it through and we have GF games in Melbourne

LV, go away.