The Andrew Gaze NBL26 MVP Awards Night had it all.
A six-time MVP was crowned, moving to within one of Andrew Gaze’s long-standing record. There was controversy surrounding the MVP result, with questions raised about the voting system and the narrow margin that separated the winner and runner-up.
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The night also saw a Coach of the Year claim his seventh title, further strengthening his case as the greatest Australian basketball coach of all time.
And in another major talking point, a superstar was left out of both the All-NBL First and Second Teams, sparking debate across the league.
We break down all the biggest storylines and moments from a dramatic NBL26 Awards Night.
BRYCE COTTON DRAWS TO WITHIN ONE OF ANDREW GAZE
Andrew Gaze spent 22 seasons in the NBL with the Melbourne Tigers, winning seven NBL MVP trophies. Those seven included five straight from 1994-98 and many believed his record would never be matched.
At the NBL26 Andrew Gaze MVP Award Night, Bryce Cotton was awarded his sixth NBL MVP and now sits just one behind Gaze. Cotton, who has spent the past 10 seasons in the league, has firmly established himself as the greatest modern-era player in the NBL.
With six MVP trophies in 10 seasons, he now stands three clear of the next-most in league history, Leroy Loggins. Given the structure of the modern league, financial constraints and the constant turnover of imports, many believed it would be impossible for a player to reach the heights Gaze did.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 23: 2026 NBL MVP of the year Bryce Cotton of the 36ers poses with the Andrew Gaze Trophy during the 2026 NBL MVP Awards at Crown Casino on February 23, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images for NBL)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 23: 2026 NBL MVP of the year Bryce Cotton of the 36ers poses with the Andrew Gaze Trophy during the 2026 NBL MVP Awards at Crown Casino on February 23, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images for NBL)Source: Getty Images
Star-level players often pursue overseas markets for greater financial opportunities, while imports frequently use the NBL as a stepping stone in hopes of returning to the NBA. With elite talent constantly moving in and out of the competition, for one player to withstand that environment, dominate across a decade and close in on Gaze’s record is remarkable.
Cotton has claimed his six MVP awards during what is widely considered the strongest era of the NBL – both from a viewership and talent perspective – with a wave of star players returning from the NBA or launching their careers there from Australia.
This latest MVP may have felt the most significant. After leaving the Perth Wildcats to sign with the Adelaide 36ers, questions surrounded whether Cotton could replicate his impact and numbers in a new environment.
Cotton finished the season averaging 25.7 points per game – the second-highest mark of his career – along with 7.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. He reinvented himself as a full-time point guard rather than a scoring guard, taking on increased playmaking responsibility while maintaining elite production.
Now just one MVP behind Gaze, discussion has begun about what happens if Cotton ties – or even surpasses – the record. Would the league consider renaming the award?
Gaze addressed the topic on SEN WA Breakfast following the awards night.
“There’s no doubt that, yeah, there’s a bit of pressure there, isn’t there?”
“Let’s hope that he’s plays really, really well but the adjudicators maybe just might want to think of others out there perhaps,” Gaze said.
“But no, I have no problem what’s that whatsoever. He is a fine, fine human being, he’s a great fella and if that’s what they eventually decided to do, I have no drama with that at all,” Gaze said.
It has quickly become one of the biggest talking points from the night. With the league’s highest individual honour at stake, it only adds to the spectacle.
At 33 years of age and with plenty of basketball still ahead of him, Cotton is now firmly on track to tie – and potentially surpass – the GOAT of Australian basketball.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 23: Bryce Cotton of the 36ers speaks after being presented with the Andrew Gaze Trophy for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) by Andrew Gaze during the 2026 NBL MVP Awards at Crown Casino on February 23, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images for NBL)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 23: Bryce Cotton of the 36ers speaks after being presented with the Andrew Gaze Trophy for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) by Andrew Gaze during the 2026 NBL MVP Awards at Crown Casino on February 23, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images for NBL)Source: Getty Images
KENDRIC DAVIS CALLS INTO QUESTION THE VOTING SYSTEM
The NBL MVP is decided by a 5-4-3-2-1 voting structure, with team captains and coaches casting their votes once the nominees for each award are announced. In what was widely viewed as a two-horse race for the MVP trophy, a close finish always felt inevitable – with some even predicting a tie.
When Bryce Cotton was crowned the winner, attention immediately turned to the margin. The final results confirmed just how tight it was, with Cotton edging out Davis 96-94 in one of the closest MVP races in league history.
Following the awards night, Davis took to social media to voice his frustrations – both with the result and the system that saw him finish runner-up for the second consecutive season.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 23: Kendric Davis of the Kings arrives for the 2026 NBL MVP Awards at Crown Casino on February 23, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images for NBL)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 23: Kendric Davis of the Kings arrives for the 2026 NBL MVP Awards at Crown Casino on February 23, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images for NBL)Source: Getty Images
“Let’s see who voted for who. So we know what is going on like the NBA,” Davis said.
“All I know is you put my stats up against his stats and take our faces off, and tell the NBA to vote on who should win MVP, I guarantee I come out on top.
“I don’t really even care. I’m just speaking on it because if it ain’t spoke on, they gonna sweep it under the rug. So, you gotta speak on it.
“They didn’t want me to win it from the get go. They didn’t want me to win MVP from the get go. Trust me.
“Why do you think at the beginning of the year all they did was post, the NBL post said I’m a bad teammate and all this and that,” Davis said.
The following morning at the NBL Finals launch, Davis was again asked about the voting system and whether changes should be considered in the future.
“I want to crack at everybody. I want to see the votes.”
Kendric Davis lashes out after MVP snub | 00:43
“When you give players votes, it can get tricky,” Davis said.
“But that’s just my opinion. It can go off who likes who, like you can’t control that, but that’s just how I feel.”
“I just want to I want to fix the system,” Davis said.
“But we want to see the people that vote for, you know, certain people that, you know, shouldn’t win it, but you’re just doing it on purpose.“
His comments also prompted Andrew Gaze to weigh in on SEN WA Breakfast, addressing the issue of transparency.
“I think when with the voting system they have, my suggestion would be that they should be really transparent and publish everyone’s votes,” Gaze said.
“So we can recognize that perhaps there might have been some manipulation by some in order to get their guy over the line.”
The proposed solution is relatively simple – greater transparency. Publishing votes would add accountability across the board, ensuring clarity around decisions for the league’s most prestigious individual honour.
Sydney Kings Kendric Davis, Xavier Cooks and Matthew Dellavedova arrives at the NBL MVP awards at Crown in Melbourne. Monday, February 23. 2026. Picture: David Crosling
Sydney Kings Kendric Davis, Xavier Cooks and Matthew Dellavedova arrives at the NBL MVP awards at Crown in Melbourne. Monday, February 23. 2026. Picture: David CroslingSource: News Corp Australia
BRIAN GOORJIAN CLAIMS SEVENTH COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Outside of the MVP race, the Coach of the Year award loomed as one of the tightest contests of the night, with two outstanding nominees in Brian Goorjian and Josh King.
The eventual winner was Goorjian, who led the Sydney Kings to the best record in the NBL at 24-9, closing the regular season on an 11-game winning streak. The Kings also finished with the league’s top offensive and defensive ratings – a dominant two-way campaign that underpinned his seventh Coach of the Year honour.
King, however, mounted a compelling case of his own. He guided the South East Melbourne Phoenix to third place on the ladder with a 22-11 record, just two games behind Sydney. Entering the season, the Phoenix faced limited expectations, with questions surrounding their roster construction and whether they had enough scoring punch.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 23: Kings Head Coach Brian Goorjian speaks after being presented with the Lindsay Gaze Coach of the Year award by Andrew Gaze during the 2026 NBL MVP Awards at Crown Casino on February 23, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images for NBL)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 23: Kings Head Coach Brian Goorjian speaks after being presented with the Lindsay Gaze Coach of the Year award by Andrew Gaze during the 2026 NBL MVP Awards at Crown Casino on February 23, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images for NBL)Source: Getty Images
South East Melbourne finished with the second-best offensive rating in the league and the fourth-best defensive rating. They led the competition in scoring at 100.7 points per game, ranked top three in three-point percentage, and were second in the NBL in points per possession at 1.21.
Both coaches were worthy winners. For Goorjian, though, the accolade adds another chapter to an already extraordinary resume. His first Coach of the Year award came in 1992, with his previous most recent win in 2009 before this season’s triumph.
The longevity is remarkable.
Across different eras, evolving playing styles and the league’s continued growth, Goorjian has consistently adapted and remained at the forefront of elite coaching. He now holds the most Lindsay Gaze Trophies for Coach of the Year in NBL history.
Bryce Cotton takes sixth NBL MVP award | 01:11
And with no signs of slowing down, the opportunity to extend that record – and further separate himself from the other great coaches in league history – remains very real.
JAVALE MCGEE UNLUCKY TO NOT MAKE AN ALL-NBL TEAM
All season long, JaVale McGee was widely regarded as the premier big man in the NBL. Yet on awards night, he was overlooked for both the First and Second All-NBL teams.
McGee averaged 19.3 points, 10 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 blocks in just 24:55 minutes per game for the Illawarra Hawks. He shot an efficient 56 per cent from the field and 20 per cent from three-point range.
By season’s end, McGee led the league in blocks per game, ranked second in rebounds – behind Adelaide’s Zylan Cheatham – and finished fifth in scoring. The four players ahead of him in points per game – Bryce Cotton, Kendric Davis, Nathan Sobey and Jack McVeigh – were all selected in the All-NBL teams.
WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 05: JaVale McGee of the Hawks celebrates winning the match with his teammates during the round 20 NBL match between Illawarra Hawks and Adelaide 36ers at WIN Entertainment Centre, on February 05, 2026, in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 05: JaVale McGee of the Hawks celebrates winning the match with his teammates during the round 20 NBL match between Illawarra Hawks and Adelaide 36ers at WIN Entertainment Centre, on February 05, 2026, in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The First Team featured Bryce Cotton, Kendric Davis, Nathan Sobey, Kristian Doolittle and John Brown III. The Second Team included Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Bryce Hamilton, Jack McVeigh, Zylan Cheatham and Xavier Cooks.
There were always going to be stiff omissions given the depth of talent across the league. However, McGee’s body of work was dominant across the entire campaign and for much of the season he was firmly in the MVP conversation.
While the Hawks finished eighth, that argument becomes complicated when Jack McVeigh earned selection despite similar team success.
Cotton takes out 6th NBL MVP | 01:11
Ultimately, it is difficult to see any of the selected players missing out – but McGee’s season was undeniably elite. Across consistency, impact and statistical production, he had a compelling case to be included in at least one of the All-NBL teams.