Why Elijah Pepper didn't win MVP is 'perplexing'

• Tamuri Wigness leads Spartans to drought-breaking title in NBL1 North
• 'Lat's all folks': Lat Mayen's 26 powers West Adelaide Bearcats to NBL1 Central title
• Derek Emelifeonwu and Glenn Morison "Gun" down Illawarra Hawks to win NBL1 East title
• The 'Elite Eight' MVPs honoured after historic NBL1 seasons

The wild, wild NBL1 West is a perplexity.

Perhaps it’s the two more games that Rockingham Flames guard Isaac White played than Warwick Senators’ Elijah Pepper that won him the Most Valuable Player Award.

Point guard White, 27, played 23 games and shooting guard Pepper, 24, played 21.

It must be – and that’s in no way to dimmish White’s extraordinary 2025 campaign.

White was elite but Pepper, wow!

Pepper had arguably the greatest season in NBL1 history, not just in the West, but the whole league.

The Perth Wildcats shooting guard averaged 36.2 points per game, 6.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists 2.2 steals, 87% from the free throw line and 51% from the field.

Elijah Pepper’s Top 5

• April 5, 2025: 50 points; seven rebounds; and seven assists
• April 12, 2025: 52 points; three rebounds; and six assists
• April 17, 2025: 48 points; five rebounds; and eight assists
• April 26, 2025: 50 points; 10 rebounds; and five assists
• July 19, 2025: 59 points; four rebounds; and nine assists

Pepper put his hot start in the first five games of the NBL1 West season to scouting.

“It’s harder than it seems,” Pepper admitted in an exclusive interview with basketball.com.au on June 19, 2025.

“Especially now... early in the season, there wasn’t much of a scouting report.

"Nobody had really seen me play outside of a little bit with the Wildcats.”

White, who is now at the Adelaide 36ers training camp, averaged 30.6 points per game, 6.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.1 steals. Outstanding by anyone’s standards.

Isaac White’s Top 5

• July 18, 2025: 47 points; 13 rebounds; and nine assists
• August 14, 2025: 34 points; 12 rebounds; and eight assists
• May 3, 2025: 39 points; seven rebounds; and nine assists
• April 11, 2025: 34 points; 12 rebounds; and seven assists
• July 4, 2025: 35 points; eight rebounds; and four assists

White’s Rockingham Flames finished minor premiers at 19-3 and Pepper’s Senators third at 18-4.

It took Pepper’s heroics in the NBL1 West Men’s Preliminary Final to propel Warwick – against White’s Flames – into the Grand Final on Saturday, August 23, 2025, against the Geraldton Buccaneers.

Pepper had 33 points, six rebounds, five assists in 40 minutes while White had 38 points, six rebounds and three assists in 40. Neither missed from the free throw line as White went 9-of-9 and Pepper 6-of-6 (Watch the Replay here).

The pair led NBL1 in efficiency ratings: Pepper at 36.3 and White at 30 (equal with NBL1 East MVP Todd Blanchfield).

basketball.com.au’s efficiency rating was simple: Efficiency = (Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) – (Missed FG + Missed FT + Turnovers).

2025 NBL1 Top 10 Efficiency Ratings

1. Elijah Pepper – 36.3
2. Isaac White – 30.0 (NBL1 West MVP)
3. Todd Blanchfield – 30.0 (NBL1 East MVP)
4. Lamar Patterson – 29.7
5. Johny Narkle – 27.6
6. CJ Turnage – 26.8
7. Tom Wilson – 26.6 (NBL1 South MVP)
8. Jalen Graham – 26.4
9. Keanu Rasmussen – 25.5 (NBL1 Central MVP)
10. Samuel McDaniel – 25.3

White, who signed with the 36ers in April, has joined teammates including Bryce Cotton in Adelaide ahead of the 2025-26 NBL season but he took time to reflect on his Flames’ NBL1 campaign after practice.

“It was fun,” he told the Adelaide 36ers website.

“I take the NBL1 stuff pretty seriously, like I obviously have a lot of influence over the results, and I take a lot of pride in that.

“So, it’s tough to get knocked out before the Grand Final, but (it was a) pretty successful year.

“I got to play a bunch on and off the ball, which is probably going to help me coming into this role on this team – just doing a bunch of reps, obviously my conditioning's kind of still up in game shape, so that's helpful too, but (I’m) ready for the next challenge.”

White played for the Brisbane Bullets in NBL25 now he’s part of a ball club that is already being hyped as an NBL26 contender.

But when it comes to the 2025 NBL1 West MVP race, White had a MVP-caliber season but Pepper’s was better.

Why Pepper, who set the NBL1 single game scoring record with his 59 in just 34 minutes on 71% from the field, isn’t the MVP is anyone’s guess.

About the Author

Peter Brown is the head coach of the Sydney Comets Women’s Youth League team in the Waratah Basketball League in NSW. He is also the assistant coach for the Comets NBL1 women’s team in the NBL East Conference. Peter is a 30-year journalist, starting as a sports reporter at the NT News in the early 1990s. He played junior basketball for the Northern Territory at national championships from U16 to U20 and for the Territory’s senior men’s team at numerous international tournaments. Peter has been a basketball fan since the early 80s, especially the NBA. Basketball is his passion — and his opinions his own. Email peter.brown@basketball.com.au with feedback. Any email feedback on articles sent to Peter can be published on basketball.com.au for others to read.