Sullivan Crowned Molten BBL MVP

The veteran scooped the 2012-13 award in recognition of an outstanding individual season and his immeasurable contribution to the success of Riders in securing the BBL Cup and then the BBL Championship for the first time in their history.

Their double haul was built around the rock solid foundation provided by Sullivan, who has been the driving force behind the clubs’ assault on silverware.

His leadership and all-round contribution in a number of different facets of the game impressed the BBL head coaches who voted Sullivan as their number one player.

The 33 year old has been a tower of strength defensively, whilst also posing an inside-outside offensive threat. Whether it has been scoring, dishing up assists or crashing the boards, ‘Sulli’ has been a handful for opponents all over the court and all season long.

He was previously crowned MVP when playing on Tyneside with Newcastle Eagles and he has proven to be a real thorn in the side of his ex-employers, helping Riders beat their rivals in the BBL Cup Final and also subsequently taking away their BBL Championship title.

The decision ensures a proud double for Riders, since Rob Paternostro took the Molten BBL Coach of the Year award. He will be particularly happy the efforts of Sullivan have been recognised, since he was eager to stress the influence of a player with an appetite for defence and the intangibles – highlighting how it isn’t always about merely stats and numbers.

“Sometimes the better player is the guy that is influential throughout the game” said Paternostro.”

“He continued, “I don’t think there is a bigger or better player that influences games in our league than Drew Sullivan.”

There was a third reason for Riders to celebrate since Jay Couisnard took second place in the voting, followed by Travis Holmes of Surrey Heat who had a particularly outstanding last part of the season and has helped Heat into the semi-finals of the BBL Play-Offs.

Sullivan will be presented with the Molten BBL Player Of The Year Award at the BBL Playoff Final on April 28th at Wembley Arena, London.

Story – BBL