With the Playoffs about to get underway, there’s another highlight of the British Basketball League calendar fast approaching as it’s almost time to announce the annual end-of-season award winners!
This year, however, there’s even more than usual to get excited about as the League is delighted to confirm several new awards have been added to the roster, offering further opportunities to celebrate the fantastic talent we have witnessed on the hardwood throughout the campaign.
The full list of awards for this year is as follows (* denotes new award):
- Molten Most Valuable Player
- Molten Betty Codona Coach of the Year
- Molten Young Player of the Year
- Sixth Player of the Year*
- Most Improved Player of the Year*
- Defensive Player of the Year*
- All-League Team of the Year
- All-British Team of the Year
- All-Defensive Team of the Year
- Community Champion of the Year*
- Sheila Hopkins Volunteer of the Year
The criteria for the new awards is as follows:
Sixth Player of the Year: awarded to the player who has made the most outstanding contribution off the bench for their team.
Most Improved Player of the Year: awarded to the player whose performances have improved most significantly compared to a previous season in the League.
Defensive Player of the Year: awarded to the most outstanding defensive player in the League.
Community Champion of the Year: awarded to the player who has made the most outstanding contribution to their community during the season, either through basketball or other pursuits.
As with every season in the League, the winners of the end-of-season awards are decided by the Head Coaches and Captains of our franchises, who submit their votes with the only caveat being that they can’t vote for themselves or members of their own team.
In the case of the Community Champion of the Year, the General Managers of each of the League’s franchises have been invited to submit cases for their respective team’s players, with the League office then deciding upon the winner. GMs also nominate their own volunteers for the Sheila Hopkins Volunteer of the Year Award.
The winners of the awards will be announced on the League’s social media channels from May 06. Fans are invited to head to the League’s channels today and submit their selections for who they think should win each of the respective awards!