It’s an all-American Molten BBL Team of the Year for 2022-23, following a vote by BBL head coaches and captains that has seen some of the league’s most exciting talent recognised for their contributions thus far.
Sam Dekker – London Lions
Former NBA first round draft pick Sam Dekker has been a talisman for the BBL Championship and BBL Cup double-winning London Lions, and was a near-unanimous pick for the Molten BBL Team of the Year. Averaging 17.1 points per game he was the league’s sixth leading scorer and most efficient interior scorer at 67.1% accuracy, adding 5.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in under 25 minutes per outing. The 6’9″ Wisconsin native forward was the MVP of the BBL Cup Final as Lions picked up their first piece of silverware in January, with 22 points and nine boards in front of a sell-out crowd at Utilita Arena, Birmingham, live on Sky Sports.
Tajh Green – Manchester Giants
Rookie forward Tajh Green of the Manchester Giants has been one of the most impactful players in the BBL this season, with his name all over league leaderboards courtesy of his high-energy play all over the court. He finished the regular season as the league’s leading rebounds (9.2 per game) and third in the BBL in scoring (18.4 points per game), as well as being sixth in blocks (1.0) and tenth in field goal percentage (47.6%). He had one of just three triple-doubles this season with 19 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists against Plymouth City Patriots in March, while in the North West derby live on Sky Sports in November he provided the highlight of the year when he threw the ball off the backboard, from the three-point line, and finished with an emphatic dunk, also hitting 6-6 triples that day.
VJ King – Bristol Flyers
Bristol had their highest ever finish with third place in the BBL Championship this season, in large part due to the versatility and firepower of VJ King, who signed in the summer having previously represented the New York Knicks in the NBA Summer League and, for two seasons, the Westchester Knicks in the NBA G-League. He led the team in scoring and was fourth overall in the BBL at 18.2 points per game, while being sixth in the league with 5.2 defensive rebounds per contest. He had eight double-doubles on the campaign, most notably 32 points and 11 rebounds in an early season win over Cheshire Phoenix, making five appearances in the weekly All-Star 5, joint-fourth among all players.
David Sloan – Caledonia Gladiators
Caledonia finished fourth in the BBL Championship and won the BBL Trophy – their first silverware in two decades – with rookie floor general David Sloan influential throughout and providing possibly the greatest moment in the club’s history. It was he who made the shot that was seen around the world as Gladiators won the BBL Trophy Final on the buzzer at Emirates Arena in one of the most amazing finishes to a BBL showpiece game. Overall, he was fifth in the BBL in scoring (17.9 points per game), sixth in assists (4.9), and sixth in free throw percentage (80%). He had one of two double-doubles of the season with 23 points and 10 assists just before Christmas against Cheshire Phoenix – key to securing the head-to-head and thereby fourth place against a team with whom they had an equal record.
Dirk Williams – Manchester Giants
Making the second Molten BBL Team of the Year appearance of his career – having previously featured in 2020-21, and the only returner in this year’s team – Dirk Williams has characteristically been a spark for the high-scoring Manchester Giants all season. In his fifth BBL campaign his average of 19.4 points per game was a career high and number two overall in the league while, amazingly, he has improved his credentials as a sharpshooter by averaging 44.4% from three-point range, also a BBL career best and number three in the league overall, adding 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in his first season in Manchester. He had five games over 30 points, most notably 31 on 7-12 (58%) three-point shooting in victory over Bristol, and the same again on 6-11 (55%) long-range shooting in an early-season overtime win against his former club B. Braun Sheffield Sharks.
A full record of votes can be found below:
Bristol Coach Vote | David Sloan | Dirk Williams | Sam Dekker | Marc Loving | Tajh Green |
Bristol Captain Vote | Javion Hamlet | Dirk Williams | Sam Dekker | Tajh Green | Kosta Koufos |
Caledonia Coach Vote | Sam Dekker | Kimbal Mackenzie | VJ King | Aaron Best | Dirk Williams |
Caledonia Captain Vote | Sam Dekker | Kosta Koufos | Kimbal Mackenzie | Dirk Williams | Zach Jackson |
Cheshire Coach Vote | Kimbal Mackenzie | Zach Jackson | VJ King | Sam Dekker | Tomislav Zubcic |
Cheshire Captain Vote | Sam Dekker | VJ King | Marc Loving | Tajh Green | Tomislav Zubcic |
Leicester Coach Vote | Tajh Green | Sam Dekker | VJ King | Larry Austin Jr | Aaron Best |
Leicester Captain Vote | Tajh Green | VJ King | Sam Dekker | David Sloan | Dirk Williams |
London Coach Vote | David Sloan | Dirk Williams | Marc Loving | VJ King | Tajh Green |
London Captain Vote | Larry Austin Jr | Zach Jackson | Jamell Anderson | Marc Loving | Tajh Green |
Manchester Coach Vote | VJ King | Sam Dekker | David Sloan | Marc Loving | Larry Austin Jr |
Manchester Captain Vote | VJ King | Sam Dekker | Marc Loving | David Sloan | Sa’eed Nelson |
Newcastle Coach Vote | Sam Dekker | Jordan Taylor | Zach Jackson | VJ King | Dirk Williams |
Newcastle Captain Vote | Sam Dekker | Marc Loving | Rahmon Fletcher | Vojtech Hruban | Tomislav Zubcic |
Plymouth Coach Vote | Sam Dekker | VJ King | David Sloan | Josh Sharma | Tajh Green |
Plymouth Captain Vote | Sam Dekker | VJ King | Josh Sharma | David Sloan | Marc Loving |
Sheffield Coach Vote | Sam Dekker | VJ King | Zach Jackson | Rahmon Fletcher | Dirk Williams |
Sheffield Captain Vote | Sam Dekker | Zach Jackson | Rahmon Fletcher | VJ King | Dirk Williams |
Surrey Coach Vote | Luke Nelson | Dirk Williams | Zach Jackson | VJ King | David Sloan |
Surrey Captain Vote | Sam Dekker | VJ King | David Sloan | Zach Jackson | Tajh Green |