Cotton v Gaze debate 'becoming NBL's Jordan v LeBron'

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Has the Andrew Gaze vs Bryce Cotton become the NBL's version of Michael Jordan vs LeBron James?

As Cotton chases a fourth NBL championship with the Adelaide 36ers, a series which they trail 1-0 to the Sydney Kings, basketball.com.au's Jason Cadee and NBL legend and current commentator Derek Rucker debated how the comparisons between the league's two greatest players would look if the six-time MVP can lead his new club to their first title in 24 years.

The 33-year-old sits just one NBL MVP award from Gaze's record of seven but Cadee and Rucker said Cotton moving on from the Perth Wildcats and potentially taking the 36ers all the way could elevate the legacy of the now Australian citizen to another stratosphere.

"That's a tough one," Rucker said on the latest episode of the Cut to the Jase podcast.

"Jase, it starts to get into real uncomfortable land (if Cotton and the 36ers win). I've known Drewy forever and love Drewy, he is a terrific person just to work with and be around. The aura and the humility of the guy.

"But damn, if Bryce goes four championships, three championship series MVPs, six MVPs, nine scoring titles, boy we start to get in this area here."

Cadee said it has almost become a direct comparison to the argument about who is the greatest of all-time in the NBA.

"I think it's becoming our own version of the Jordan and LeBron (debate)," he said.

"At the end of the day, there's some stuff that people will never touch in terms of his total amount of points and obviously (Gaze's) was different because of what he did for Australia on the world stage, especially at that time, what Drey was doing, no one from here was doing.

"But when you just separate, strip it all back to the NBL, what Bryce is doing in the NBL, if (Adelaide) were to win, we just haven't seen anyone do that before at that high a level.

"We've seen people bounce around to teams and win some titles. Like CJ Bruton's a prime example and he was very, very good, but what Bryce has been able to do, the numbers, the MVPs and all that, it's just incredible.

"His semi-finals series (against South East Melbourne), think about how good (Nathan Sobey) was in game two, think about how good he was, and Bryce basically did that for three games."

Rucker gave a special insight into an interaction between Gaze and Cotton following Adelaide's game three win over the Phoenix toreach the championship series.

"I have had the opportunity to just sit there and work so many big games with Andrew Gaze, he's right there by my side and we've had some incredible moments that we've been able to document with Jack Heverin as a team," he said.

"But after game three... Bryce was across the court, they were celebrating and he looked over at the commentary table and he came over and dapped me up, and after he came to me, he went to Drewy and I sat down and the conversation between those two was just such a credit to Andrew.

"That he's able to speak almost as a fan of Bryce Cotton and wish him well and say how much he appreciates everything that Bryce does for the league and how great he was in that series.

"You don't get that from someone who is considered the greatest in what they've done in a particular country. It's Andrew's humility and the ability to recognise other people's greatness is what I love about him so much.

"That was a private moment, I was the only one there to witness it and Drew's just so earnest about everything that he does and there was no insincerity in the words he spoke to Bryce Cotton."

ANDREW GAZE PROFILE

• Two NBL championships (1993, 1997)
• NBA champion (1999)
• Seven-time NBL MVP (1991, 1992, 1994-98)
• 14-time NBL scoring champion
• NBL Rookie of the Year (1984)
• 15-time NBL All-First Team
• No.10 jersey retired by the Melbourne Tigers
• Five-time Olympian
• 2nd all-time in scoring at Olympic Games
• Elevated to 'Legend' status in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in November 2025

BRYCE COTTON PROFILE

• Three-time NBL champion (2017, 2019, 2020)
• Two-time NBL Grand Final MVP (2017, 2020)
• Six-time NBL MVP (2018, 2020, 2021, 2024-26)
• Nine-time NBL scoring champion
• Nine-time All-NBL First Team
• Five-time NBL Fans MVP
• NBL Cup winner (2021)
• Big East Tournament MVP (2014)