Super League Basketball is delighted to announce the roster for the Molten All-Defensive Team of the Year, following a voting process involving the League’s Head Coaches and Captains.
Headlining the roster is B. Braun Sheffield Hatters forward Megan Mullings, with 16 of a possible 18 selections to the roster.
Whilst Mullings’ offensive output certainly shows up in the box score, her impact defensively requires closer study to her game, at which point you quickly realise how much of a problem she is forcing turnovers, causing shot adjustments and communicating with her teammates.
It wouldn’t be a Molten Defensive Team of the Year without Shanice Beckford-Norton. 12 selections for SBN this year means the Oaklands Wolves guard has now featured in five of the last six DTOTY rosters, and we’ve run out of superlatives to describe her impact on that end of the floor.
The GB international is a bundle of energy, intensity and a true tone-setter on the defensive end for her side.
Newcastle Eagles duo Shanique Lucas and Andrea Daley are next up on the roster. This is Lucas’ second consecutive inclusion on the roster after her debut inclusion last season as part of the Durham Palatinates. She ranks second in steals league-wide (2.7spg), bettered only by Daley (2.8spg), who enjoyed a super rookie campaign in SLB on both ends of the floor.
Caledonia’s Anastasia Warren completes the line-up with seven selections. Warren’s performances on both ends of the floor have been instrumental for the Gladiators as they’ve secured second place in the Championship and reached the Trophy Final.
The American third-year guard will be hoping to help her team reach one more Final this season at The O2 on May 17, giving Gladiators one last chance at securing silverware this campaign.
You can see a full voting record for the Molten All-Defensive Team of the Year below.
| Voter | Position | Club | First Choice | Second Choice | Third Choice | Fourth Choice | Fifth Choice |
| Tierra Hodges | Captain | Caledonia Gladiators | Andrea Daley | Quinesha Lockett | Megan Mullings | Shanique Lucas | Shanice Beckford-Norton |
| Chantelle Handy | Coach | Caledonia Gladiators | Megan Mullings | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Chantel Charles | Quinesha Lockett | Shanique Lucas |
| Emma Bailey | Captain | Cardiff Met Archers | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Quinesha Lockett | Tierra Hodges | Megan Mullings | Maria Blazejewski |
| Stef Collins | Coach | Cardiff Met Archers | Robyn Lewis | Shanique Lucas | Tierra Hodges | Andrea Daley | Megan Mullings |
| Claire Paxton | Captain | Essex Rebels | Andrea Daley | Shanique Lucas | Anastasia Warren | Antoinette Lewis | Megan Mullings |
| Ashley Cookson | Coach | Essex Rebels | Megan Mullings | Andrea Daley | Anastasia Warren | Tierra Hodges | Shanice Beckford-Norton |
| Brooke Biggott | Captain | Leicester Riders | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Shanique Lucas | Andrea Daley | Maaja Bratka | Danielle McCray |
| Nick Moodey | Coach | Leicester Riders | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Quinesha Lockett | Andrea Daley | Megan Mullings | Tierra Hodges |
| Macy Spinks | Captain | London Lions | Megan Mullings | Shanique Lucas | Anastasia Warren | Mathilde Domenger | Antoinette Lewis |
| Kyla Nelson | Coach | London Lions | Shanique Lucas | Anastasia Warren | Mathilde Domenger | Megan Mullings | Antoinette Lewis |
| Maaja Bratka | Captain | Manchester Basketball | Megan Mullings | Tierra Hodges | Jess Eadsforth-Yates | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Shanique Lucas |
| Oli Parr | Coach | Manchester Basketball | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Andrea Daley | Megan Mullings | Shanique Lucas | Mathilde Domenger |
| Zoe Willis | Captain | Newcastle Eagles | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Mathilde Domenger | Anastasia Warren | Megan Mullings | Maaja Bratka |
| Chloe Gaynor | Coach | Newcastle Eagles | Megan Mullings | Anastasia Warren | Mathilde Domenger | Maaja Bratka | Quinesha Lockett |
| Alice Fallon | Captain | Nottingham Wildcats | Shanique Lucas | Quinesha Lockett | Megan Mullings | Irene Oboavwoduo | Maaja Bratka |
| Karen Burton | Coach | Nottingham Wildcats | Shanique Lucas | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Frannie Hottinger | Tierra Hodges | Andrea Daley |
| Shanice Beckford-Norton | Captain | Oaklands Wolves | Andrea Daley | Megan Mullings | Natalie Chou | Shanique Lucas | Maaja Bratka |
| Lee Ryan | Coach | Oaklands Wolves | Tiarra East | Antoinette Lewis | Natalie Chou | Andrea Daley | Megan Mullings |
| Georgia Gayle | Captain | Sheffield Hatters | Maaja Bratka | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Andrea Daley | Mathilde Domenger | Anastasia Warren |
| Vanessa Ellis | Coach | Sheffield Hatters | Tiarra East | Robyn Lewis | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Paige Meyer | Veera Pirttinen |
Further end-of-season award winners will be announced in the coming days and don’t forget you can watch all the action from the final weeks of this incredible SLB season and stay up to date via our social media channels by clicking here.