Hungry Jack's NBL26 award nominees revealed

A standout group of players has been nominated across multiple categories ahead of next Monday’s Andrew Gaze MVP Awards Night.

Nominees for the MVP, Next Generation Award, Best Sixth Man, Damian Martin Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Improved Player were determined by an expert panel featuring Andrew Gaze, Olgun Uluc, Derek Rucker, Michael Cedar and John Casey.

Following this, coaches and captains from each of the 10 teams cast their votes, with individuals unable to vote for players from their own club. 

The NBL will reveal the three finalists in each category following the conclusion of voting.

The nominees are:

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Andrew Gaze Trophy for Most Valuable Player

John Brown III (South East Melbourne)

Zylan Cheatham (Adelaide)

Xavier Cooks (Sydney)

Bryce Cotton (Adelaide)

Kendric Davis (Sydney)

Kristian Doolittle (Perth)

Bryce Hamilton (Tasmania)

Parker Jackson-Cartwright (New Zealand)

JaVale McGee (Illawarra)

Jack McVeigh (Cairns)

Nathan Sobey (South East Melbourne)

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Most Improved Player

Josh Bannan (Tasmania)

Flynn Cameron (Adelaide)

Owen Foxwell (South East Melbourne)

Makuach Maluach (Sydney)

Nick Marshall (Tasmania)

Sam Mennenga (New Zealand)

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Best Sixth Man

Majok Deng (Tasmania)

Angus Glover (South East Melbourne)

Will Hickey (Illawarra)

Kouat Noi (Sydney)

Nick Rakocevic (Adelaide)

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Damian Martin Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year

John Brown III (South East Melbourne)

Xavier Cooks (Sydney)

Kristian Doolittle (Perth)

Bul Kuol (Sydney)

Will Magnay (Tasmania)

Nick Marshall (Tasmania)

Tyson Walker (Melbourne)

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Next Generation Award

Owen Foxwell (South East Melbourne)

Jaylin Galloway (Sydney)

Ben Henshall (Perth)

Karim Lopez (New Zealand)

Sam Mennenga (New Zealand)

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All coaches remain in contention for the Lindsay Gaze Trophy for Coach of the Year, while every player is eligible for selection in the All-NBL First and Second Teams, Fans’ MVP and the Gametime by Kmart Award. The Executive of the Year and Referee of the Year will also be announced during the evening.

The Andrew Gaze MVP Awards Night will be broadcast on Disney+ and Kayo from 7:30pm AEDT on Monday, February 23.