2015-16 NBLC Awards Announced

The National Basketball League of Canada officially handed out their awards for the 2015-16 Regular Season on Friday. You can find the winners, and a brief summary of their accomplishments, below:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

LOGAN STUTZ, RIVER LIONS

Posting averages of 21.62 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per, Stutz has solidified himself as one of the most prolific scorers the league has ever seen. He has carried the load for the River Lions for the majority of the season and has adapted to the North American game very well.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

JAMES JUSTICE, MIRACLES

James Justice was the little engine that could. Despite coming up against larger and very defensively-sound guards in the Atlantic, the 5'10" shooter kept impressing. A very impressive 18ppg, on a fledgling team, was highlighted by 36-point and 34-point breakouts early in the season. Oh, and this former slam dunk champion has one of the most impressive verticles you will ever see.

CANADIAN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

WARREN WARD, LIGHTNING

This was a slim year for Canadians that stood out. Richard Amardi very well could have walked away with this award if it wasn’t for the poor first half of the season. Despite suffering from inconsistency at times, Ward has shown he can heat up when needed. He scored more total points than any other Canadian; the next leading scorer had 59 points less. The second-year guard led his Lightning to victories on more than a few occasions and was pivotal in both a starting role and off the bench.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

STEPHEN MAXWELL, LIGHTNING

In only his first pro year Maxwell joined an elite group of players to have averaged double-doubles in a season in the NBLC. He also broke the single-season records for rebounds. He's fresh out of college, and he's already a leader for the best team in the Central Division.

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

DARTIS WILLIS, EXPRESS

Willis led the club out of arguably the darkest moment in league history to further establishing the Express brand in Windsor. With arena lease discussions seemingly in the rear-view, and with yet another competitive team, things seem to smell great in the Rose City.

COACH OF THE YEAR

HUGO LOPEZ, HURRICANES

Was a toss up between Julius and Lopez but I have to give the nod to coach Lopez in his first year. Halifax is the best team and it’s in no small part due to the way Lopez has been running his team.  

6TH MAN OF THE YEAR

MIKE GLOVER, HURRICANES

Spent most of the year leading his team in rebounding and scoring. Glover started only two games this season for his Hurricanes. Easily an MVP candidate early in the season, Glover was a key factor in the Hurricanes success. Coined “The First Hurricane”, Glover became a fan favourite of Halifax faithful.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

ANTHONY STOVER, MILL RATS

No other player came close. Stover posted more blocks by himself than three of the teams in the league. If you need more numbers, Stover broke the single-season blocks record (132), set by Cavell Johnson (66), by the halfway point of the season. At 6’11", the UCLA product, was by far the best defensive big man the NBLC has seen to date.  

*With files from Matthew Latour and Jake Beckett