In the build-up to the celebrations we look back at the history of the WNBL awards and the greats that have shaped the game in this country and around the world.
Today we look into the recent history of the WNBL MVP and remember the stars of the modern era who have shaped the WNBL into the competition it is today.
If we expected Lauren Jackson to make the award her own we didn’t see the exceptional talents of Katrina Hibbert coming on the horizon.
The Bulleen Boomer joined Foster, Sporn, Jackson and Taylor as back-to-back WNBL MVP winners, taking the award in 2005 and 2006.
A different player, but same team was the situation in 2007 as Bulleen’s Hollie Grima was named the league’s most valuable player.
The hurt the Sydney Uni Flames suffered in losing six grand finals in seven years between 2002 and 2008 was off-set somewhat when star Natalie Porter claimed 2008 MVP honours.
The city of Townsville rejoiced as Rohanee Cox became the first Fire player to receive the league’s highest individual honour in 2009.
Winning the 2010 MVP award was a long wait for Kristi Harrower, since first bursting on to the scene in 1991 as an 18-year-old with the Melbourne Tigers.
Harrower’s journey took her to the AIS and the Adelaide Lightning before becoming a household name back at the Melbourne Tigers in the late 1990s, being named in the WNBL All Star Five Team four consecutive times between 1997 and 2000.
Returning to her home town of Bendigo in 2007 after a rewarding career in the WNBA and Europe, Harrower helped develop the fledgling club and was rewarded for her outstanding 2010 campaign.
If Harrower’s MVP was long coming than the 2011 MVP winner Liz Cambage’s first could be one of many.
At just 19 years of age the 203cm centre announced herself as the premier player in the WNBL, taking out the title as her Bullen Boomers recorded their first WNBL premiership.
What will happen as we discover whose name will be added to the list of legends is anyone’s guess, but we can be sure that the next player to be crowned WNBL Most Valuable Player will fit comfortably in the star-studded winners’ circle.
‘The MVP’ awards ceremony will see the elite of Australia’s basketball family in attendance as the annual awards for both the National Basketball League and Women’s National Basketball League are presented in a combined ceremony at the esteemed Palladium Room at Crown Casino in Melbourne on Monday 26 March. Fans can watch a livestream of the event at http://freezone.iinet.net.au/channels/freezone/sport/basketball/nbl-mvp.
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