Bombshell: Bryce Cotton signs with Adelaide 36ers

• The Adelaide 36ers have secured the services of Bryce Cotton on a three-year deal
• Cotton spent nine seasons at the Perth Wildcats, winning five NBL MVP awards and three championships
• He averaged a career-high of 28.1 points per game last season

The Adelaide 36ers have rocked the NBL landscape with the club securing the services of five-time MVP and Perth Wildcats legend Bryce Cotton.

In the biggest signing in the proud club's history, Cotton has agreed to a three-year deal with the 36ers after finishing his nine-year tenure with the Wildcats following the 2024-25 season.

The 32-year-old was named the league's best player last season after a career-high average in points, scoring 28.1 points per game while also recording 4.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game as Perth made it all the way to the semi-finals before being beaten by Melbourne United.

“The opportunity to bring in one of the all-time greats of the NBL is hard to pass up,” said 36ers General Manager of Basketball Matt Weston.

“Bryce has a history of winning championships, of personal and team excellence, and he’s going to help us transform our culture and our standards to build a team capable of winning championships.

“We know when he’s up and going, he’s hard to stop and we think our fans will love having him on our side instead of playing against us.”

Adelaide head coach Mike Wells was thrilled to have signed the reigning NBL MVP.

“Over the last season as I’ve got a handle of the NBL and the players in this league, Matt Weston and I had a really clear vision of how we wanted to reshape this roster and I think we have systematically picked guys we’ve wanted, and that wanted to be here,” Wells said.

“We’re really excited about who we’ve been able to bring in so far, but then to be able to bring in a guy like Bryce Cotton, it just takes our reshaping efforts to a new level."

Cotton is a two-time Grand Final MVP and eight-time scoring champion in the NBL, having led the Wildcats to three NBL championships in 2017, 2019 and 2020 and is a ready-made replacement for Kendric Davis, who made the switch from the 36ers to the Sydney Kings.

The  signing pairs Cotton with another sharpshooter in Dejan Vasiljevic and further boosts a 36ers roster coached by Mike Wells, which already includes big man Isaac Humphries, Kiwi young gun Flynn Cameron, Cotton's former Wildcats teammate Michael Harris and Matt Kenyon.

All-NBL second team member Montrezl Harrell said: "Oh, man statement made" when he learned about the signing while it's unclear whether he will return to the Sixers next season.

Cotton's addition propels Adelaide towards the top of the list of championship contenders after the team lost in the play-in to to the South East Melbourne Phoenix last season.

In late March, Cotton took to Instagram to reveal he was leaving the Wildcats and praise the place where he spent almost a decade of his career.

"There’s not enough pictures to showcase the memories and experiences I’ve had in Perth the past 9 seasons, so this pic and caption will have to do,” Cotton wrote.

“Man.. to the red army y’all have welcomed me with open arms from the time I first stepped onto Aussie soil till I scored my last basket of the season a few weeks back. I came at the backend of the season my first year only expecting to be here 6 weeks, and it turned into accomplishing things that no other player has achieved in their first 9 seasons in the history of the league. All glory to God.

“Despite that, I had my slumps along the way on the court but you guys never turned your back on me and always showed genuine support. I can never thank you enough for that.

“I can only hope you had half as much joy watching me play as I had playing in front of y’all year after year. Win lose or draw, I gave you, my teammates, and coaches everything I had.. and thank you once again for accepting, the good games, the bad and everything in between.

“Perth will always be home, but it’s time to say goodbye and see what else God has planned for me and my family.”

He is currently playing for Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico.