The Adelaide 36ers’ Jerome Randle, who finished top three in both scoring and assists, has won the 2016-17 NBL Most Valuable Player Award, presented by Chemist Warehouse tonight at the NBL MVP Awards Night.
Randle becomes just the second 36ers player to be named MVP, joining Mark Davis who was honoured in 1987. Randle received a total of 143 votes to win the Award.
The Perth Wildcats’ Casey Prather finished second with 107 votes and the Sydney Kings’ Kevin Lisch was third with 82 votes. The Illawarra Hawks’ Rotnei Clarke (76 votes) and Melbourne United’s Casper Ware (74 votes) rounded out the top five. Throughout the year, coaches from each team vote on the best performing players in every game. At the conclusion of each game, each coaching staff is given ten votes to be spread among the best-performing players, regardless of team. The maximum any individual can receive from each coaching staff is five votes. The votes are then collated and the individual with the most votes at the end of the regular season is awarded the Most Valuable Player. With Randle leading the way, Adelaide finished the regular season in first place, recording an impressive 17-11 record. After opening the season with only 3 wins from their first 9 games, the 36ers won 14 of their next 15, going undefeated throughout the month of December. Randle’s scoring, playmaking and ability to deliver in the clutch powered Adelaide’s high-paced team throughout the season. He finished third among all NBL players in both scoring and assists, averaging 21.0 points and 5.3 assists per game. He was also extremely efficient, connecting on 51.4 percent of his field goal attempts, the NBL’s highest mark among guards, and 90.4 percent of his free throws. Last year Randle became the first player in the NBL’s 40-minute era to average 20 or more points and 5 or more assists over the course of a season. This year he achieved that feat a second time. The lightning-quick point guard led all guards in double-doubles, recording double-digit points and assists on three separate occasions. Randle also scored the most points in a single game this season when he dropped 40 points against the Perth Wildcats in Round 5. He finished the regular season having scored 15 or more points in 24 of his 28 games. Randle receives the Andrew Gaze Trophy, which is named in honour of one of the League’s greatest players, a two-time NBL champion and seven-time MVP. Randle will now turn his attention to the upcoming Swisse NBL Finals, with his Adelaide 36ers set to battle the Illawarra Hawks in a best-of-three semi-final series. Game one tips off 7:30pm (AEDT)Thursday February 16 at Titanium Security Arena in Adelaide.
All-Time NBL Most Valuable Player Award 1979 – Ken Richardson, West Adelaide Bearcats 1980 – Rocky Smith, St. Kilda Saints 1981 – Mike Jones, Illawarra Hawks 1982 – Al Green, West Adelaide Bearcats 1983 – Owen Wells, Sydney Supersonics 1984 – Leroy Loggins, Brisbane Bullets 1985 – Ray Borner, Coburg Giants 1986 – Leroy Loggins, Brisbane Bullets 1987 – Mark Davis, Adelaide 36ers & Leroy Loggins, Brisbane Bullets 1988 – Joe Hurst, Hobart Devils 1989 – Scott Fisher, North Melbourne Giants 1990 – Derek Ricker, Brisbane Bullets 1991 – Andrew Gaze, Melbourne Tigers 1992 – Scott Fisher, North Melbourne Giants & Andrew Gaze, Melbourne Tigers 1993 – Robert Rose, South East Melbourne Magic 1994 – Andrew Gaze, Melbourne Tigers 1995 – Andrew Gaze, Melbourne Tigers 1996 – Andrew Gaze, Melbourne Tigers 1997 – Andrew Gaze, Melbourne Tigers 1998 – Andrew Gaze, Melbourne Tigers 1999 – Steve Woodberry, Brisbane Bullets 2000 – Paul Rogers, Perth Wildcats 2001 – Robert Rose, Townsville Crocodiles 2002 – Mark Bradtke, Melbourne Tigers 2003 – Chris Williams, Sydney Kings 2004 – Matthew Nielsen, Sydney Kings 2005 – Brian Wethers, Hunter Pirates 2006 – Chris Anstey, Melbourne Tigers 2007 – Sam Mackinnon, Brisbane Bullets 2008 – Chris Anstey, Melbourne Tigers 2009 – Kirk Penney, New Zealand Breakers 2010 – Corey Williams, Townsville Crocodiles 2011 – Gary Ervin, Wollongong Hawks 2012 – Kevin Lisch, Perth Wildcats 2013 – Cedric Jackson, New Zealand Breakers 2014 – Rotnei Clarke, Wollongong Hawks 2015 – Brian Conklin, Townsville Crocodiles 2016 – Kevin Lisch, Illawarra Hawks 2017 – Jerome Randle, Adelaide 36ers
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