Cigna Saints point guard, Shea Ili, has claimed the Most Valuable Player award and Mike Pero Nelson Giants, Finn Delany, is forward of the year.
Ili is coming off a career best season averaging 22.2 points, 6.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the Saints who finished the regular season at the top of the table with a 15-3 record. Ili also claims the Keith Carr Trophy for Most Outstanding Guard, the John MacDonald Trophy for Most Valuable NZ Guard, and NZ Most Valuable Player.
Delany also had a career year leading the Giants to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 averaging 19.4 points and 7.9 rebounds. Delany wins the Commissioners Cup for Most Outstanding Forward and the Stan Hill Trophy for Most Outstanding Forward/Centre.
In his first season as an NBL coach, Jamie Pearlman, is Coach of the Year after taking a 4-12 Giants side to 14-4 and a spot in the Final Four.
Go Media Jets returned to the NBL after two seasons away and produced some impressive wins thanks to the play of their imports Daishon Knight and Kuran Iverson. Knight had some memorable performances including back to back 40 plus point games, which included a league high 47.
The Baltimore native averaged 28.9 points to win the scoring title. Iverson was a double-double machine and won the Garry Pettis Memorial Trophy for Leading Individual Rebounder averaging 11.1 per game.
In his final NBL season, Lindsay Tait, has finished on a high note, winning the assist title for the fourth time winning it in 2010, 13 and 15. Tait averaged 7.6 assists per game just edging out The Wheeler Motor Canterbury Rams forward, Winston Shepard III, by two assists.
Shepard did get selected for the All Star Five, averaging 18.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.5 assists for the Rams. Alongside Ili and Delany, SIT Zerofees Sharks point guard Jarrad Weeks and Taylor Hawks centre, Angus Brandt fill out the All Star Five. Weeks averaged 17.1 points and 5.8 assists to help his Sharks make it to the playoffs for the sixth straight season. Brandt was a huge factor for turning a Hawks team that had only won four games in their last two seasons to the playoffs. The Australian Boomer averaged 15.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
As well as winning the Regular season, the Cigna Saints were the best free throw shooting team at 78.1%.
2018 Sal’s National Basketball League Awards:
Sal’s NBL Champions: SIT Zerofees Southland Sharks
Regular Season Winners: Cigna Saints
NZ Most Valuable Player: Shea Ili (Cigna Saints)
Most Valuable Player: Shea Ili (Cigna Saints)
Best Free Throw Percentage: Cigna Saints
Referee of the Year: Ryan Jones (Auckland)
Administrator of the Year: Bill Dahlberg (Mike Pero Nelson Giants)
Garry Pettis Memorial Trophy – Leading Individual Rebounder: Kuran Iverson (Go Media Jets)
Dave Taylor Trophy – Leading Assists: Lindsay Tait (2 Cheap Supercity Rangers)
Leading Scorer: Daishon Knight (Go Media Jets)
Coach of the Year: Jamie Pearlman (Mike Pero Nelson Giants)
Keith Carr Trophy – Most Outstanding Guard: Shea Ili (Cigna Saints)
John Macdonald Trophy – Most Outstanding NZ Guard: Shea Ili (Cigna Saints)
Commissioners Cup – Most Outstanding Forward/Centre: Finn Delany (Mike Pero Nelson Giants)
Stan Hill Trophy – Most Outstanding NZ Forward/Centre: Finn Delany (Mike Pero Nelson Giants)
Rookie of the Year: Max Darling (The Wheeler Motor Rams)
All Star Five:
Jarrad Weeks (Southland Sharks)
Shea Ili (Wellington Saints)
Winston Shepard III (Canterbury Rams)
Finn Delany (Nelson Giants)
Angus Brandt (Hawke's Bay Hawks)
Photo: www.photosport.nz
