Sam Decker of London Lions He was awarded the Molten BBL Player of the Year Award, following a vote from the BBL coaches and captains in which he was an almost unanimous top-three selection and was first to two-thirds of eligible voters.
The 6’9 Wisconsin native forward was a mascot for the two-time BBL Championship and BBL Cup winners, as the Lions went 32-4 in league play to claim their first regular season title since 2019 and the second time in their history.
Dekker joined the summer before the Lions domestic and EuroCup player, having previously been in the first round of the NBA Draft with the Houston Rockets and played over 200 NBA Games, which also includes the Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Wizards.
Averaging 17.1 points per game, he was the league’s sixth leading scorer and most efficient indoor scorer with an accuracy percentage of 67.1%, adding 5.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in less than 25 minutes per outing. He was the second-highest scorer in the European Cup with 18.2 points per game as London became the first British team in history to make the play-offs for that competition.
His crowning achievement to this point was in their biggest game of the season, as he was named MVP in the BBL Cup Final in front of a packed crowd at Utilita Arena in Birmingham, live on Sky Sports, scoring 22 points in a 4-8 (50). %) Three-point shot and nine rebounds. Characteristically, it was the timing of his scoring that proved decisive after the Lions led throughout the game hitting a hat-trick of three first-half pointers, before Leicester Raiders got off to a 10-0 lead in the fourth, and the Leicester Raiders came back strong until Decker scored consecutive scores to stop them. Momentum, between eight points and three boards in the fourth quarter.
During the season, he performed admirably in the big games, recording his only double-double of the season in their first victory over the defending champion, Leicester, with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in that game in September, followed by 21 and 18 points. In two subsequent meetings with the Raiders.
As one of the best signings in BBL history, Dekker joins a notable list of BBL stars who have won this award in the past, with no player winning it more than twice, Rahmon Fletcher being the only former player currently in the league. Despite showing some clear “point progression” trends this season, amazingly Dekker is the first point guard to win this award since Charles Smith in 2015.
The full record of votes can be found below:
voter | first choice | second choice | Third choice |
Andreas Capoulas (Bristol coach) | Taj Green | Sam Decker | David Sloan |
Mike Miller (Bristol captain) | Sam Decker | Gavion Hamlet | David Sloan |
Gareth Murray (Coach Caledonia) | Sam Decker | Kimball McKenzie | Aaron Best |
Johnny Bunyan (Calcedonia captain) | King VJ | Sam Decker | Taj Green |
Ben Thomas (Cheshire coach) | Sam Decker | King VJ | Zack Jackson |
Larry Austin Jr (Cheshire Captain) | King VJ | Sam Decker | Taj Green |
Rob Paternostro (Leicester coach) | Sam Decker | King VJ | Taj Green |
Darren Nelson Henry (Captain Leicester) | Taj Green | King VJ | Sam Decker |
Ryan Schmidt (London coach) | King VJ | David Sloan | Mark Loving |
Sam Decker (Captain London) | Taj Green | Larry Austin Jr | Gavion Hamlet |
Vince Macaulay (Manchester United) | King VJ | Sam Decker | David Sloan |
Rahman Fletcher (Manchester captain) | King VJ | Mark Loving | David Sloan |
Mark Stotell (Newcastle coach) | Sam Decker | Zack Jackson | King VJ |
Darius Defoe (Newcastle captain) | Sam Decker | Mark Loving | Rahman Fletcher |
Paul James (Plymouth coach) | Sam Decker | King VJ | David Sloan |
Elvis Dusha (Captain Plymouth) | Sam Decker | King VJ | David Sloan |
Atiba Lions (Sheffield United) | Sam Decker | King VJ | Zack Jackson |
Rodney Glasgow Jr (Sheffield captain) | Sam Decker | King VJ | Zack Jackson |
Lloyd Gardner (Surrey coach) | King VJ | Zack Jackson | Luke Nelson |
Tayo Ogedengbe (Sarey captain) | Sam Decker | King VJ | David Sloan |