The NBL finals are set after a thrilling finish to a remarkably tight 2016-17 season and before the league makes their award winners official on Monday night, here’s a look at who I think should be on the receiving end of the honours.

The best part of the NBL season heading into the finals is that the three teams with the smallest budgets that were fighting against the odds with the rich and powerful allowed to spend up big were the first to qualify.

Adelaide, Cairns and Illawarra all secured spots before the Wildcats had to beat Melbourne on Sunday to earn their spot and eliminate their old foes in the New Zealand Breakers.

The Sydney Kings and Melbourne United spent significantly more on their playing squads this season than the rest of the league, and both saw their seasons ended with a whimper.

The Wildcats are there for a 31st straight year and they are a power on and off the court. But for the 36ers, Taipans and Hawks, they have bucked the odds and despite the fact that the markets of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne won’t have a team there, it’s a big win for the league.

That’s all ahead of us with the finals beginning on Thursday with Game 1 between Adelaide and Illawarra, before the Cairns-Perth series gets underway a day later.

Monday night will see the NBL awards presented for the 2016-17 season and here’s my take on who I think should be recognised.

Most Valuable Player

Jerome Randle – Adelaide 36ers
(mid-season pick: Casey Prather)

It was only the fact that he wasn’t here for the start of last season that stopped him winning the award a year ago and it would be quite the shock if Jerome Randle didn’t take out MVP honours this season.

He has been a dominant force on the team that was the runaway minor premier before losing their final four games leading into the finals.

The dynamic point guard did it all for his 36ers team in terms of scoring, creating for his teammates and leading them impressively in his second season in the NBL.

He was simply unstoppable when at his best and his numbers of 21.0 points, 5.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds are MVP worthy.

Most impressively he made those around him better and his combination with Nathan Sobey, Daniel Johnson and Mitch Creek are a huge reason why the Sixers finish on top of the ladder.

Other contenders
Perth’s Casey Prather was my pick at the midway point of the season but he dropped off significantly with the arrival of Bryce Cotton before a dominant final round. Reigning MVP Kevin Lisch and his Sydney teammate Brad Newley could both be leading through the first half of the season, but both dropped off through form and injury after that. Melbourne’s Casper Ware only played 18 games after coming to replace Cedric Jackson and that’s the only thing stopping him from being either the MVP or runner-up to Randle.

Rookie of the Year

Anthony Drmic – Adelaide 36ers
(mid-season pick: Majok Deng)

It wasn’t a strong rookie class in the NBL this season with nobody standing out to the point that Nick Kay at the Townsville Crocs did last season, but Anthony Drmic from Adelaide is a more than deserving recipient.

Drmic arrived at Adelaide following his college career at Boise State and has been a good contributor for the 36ers with 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds a game. He has had some big games along the way including 17 points twice, against fellow finalists Perth and Cairns.

He has shown he is more than ready to be an NBL player and his shooting ability will only continue to see him develop further.

Other contenders
Drmic’s teammate Majok Deng was another good candidate but his role decreased late in the season as he finished with 5.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in his 25 appearances. There weren’t too many other candidates throughout the league but Brisbane’s Matt Kenyon, Isaih Tueta who started with New Zealand and finished at the Bullets, and Perth’s Mason Bragg are worthy of recognition.

Best Defensive Player

Torrey Craig – Brisbane Bullets
(mid-season pick: Torrey Craig)

This is Perth Wildcats captain Damian Martin’s award to lose and because he missed 11 games, for the second straight year that could cost him. Martin remains the only player who can dominate a game simply through his defence and he deserves a sixth Best Defensive Player award.

But by my reckoning, he missed too much of the season so that begs the question who is the next best player to impact a game with their defensive efforts, and I have to go with Brisbane’s Torrey Craig.

Craig ended up with the most rebounds in the league for the season while doing some good defensive jobs for his team in individual battles on those bigger and smaller, and around his size.

But overall, his ability to block shots and steal the ball, rebound strongly and make life tough for the opposition with his anticipation and athleticism mean he is a more than worthy winner of the award.

Other contenders
Kevin Lisch won the Best Defensive Player award last season and could be in contention again. Perth’s Jameel McKay might have struggled at the offensive end but the Wildcats big man had a good impact defensively in terms of rebounds and blocking and changing shots. Illawarra point guard Mitch Norton is also an underrated defender and deserves recognition along with his big man teammate AJ Ogilvy.

Best Sixth Man

Rotnei Clarke – Illawarra Hawks
(mid-season pick: Akil Mitchell)

From the moment his coach Rob Beveridge shifted him to the bench, his and his team’s fortunes turned around and for that reason, this should be Rotnei Clarke’s award for the 2016-17 season.

Clarke returned to the Illawarra Hawks this season having previously won the MVP award there three years ago. He struggled to start the season and his team wasn’t firing, but he has shone coming off the bench and the Hawks have gone on to qualify for the finals in impressive fashion.

Clarke’s game just wasn’t there in the first third of the season, but in the last 18 games he has averaged 19.3 points as his confidence and shooting continued to grow reminiscent of his MVP form.

Other contenders
Clarke is hard to go past because he is a legitimate MVP contender while coming off the bench. But Adelaide captain Mitch Creek, New Zealand big man Akil Mitchell, Perth’s Jesse Wagstaff and Sydney’s Josh Powell all had their impact off the bench too.

Most Improved Player

Nathan Sobey – Adelaide 36ers
(mid-season pick: Nathan Sobey)

This award was a lock from really early on – this season, Nathan Sobey is the certainty of the night to take out the Most Improved Player.

He began his career in Cairns and on limited opportunities, showed encouraging signs. He then moved to Adelaide and showed that he was a talent for the future, but again wasn’t quite receiving enough minutes to be a real difference maker.

But this season, Sobey has been entrusted by coach Joey Wright to do his thing and he is delivering some remarkable basketball.

His numbers are impressive enough at 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists a game, but it’s the way he goes about it that is even more exciting.

He is simply unstoppable when he is going in the open court and he plays with a passion and energy that is infectious for his teammates and supporters alike.

Other contenders
There is nobody else even in the discussion.

Coach of the Year

Joey Wright – Adelaide 36ers
(mid-season pick: Joey Wright)

Joey Wright has been around a long time and coached a championship with the Bullets, and gone close at the Gold Coast Blaze and then in Adelaide two years ago, but this season could very well be his best coaching performance.

The 36ers likely have the smallest budget in the league and have stocked up on rookies this season with Terrance Ferguson, Eric Jacobsen, Majok Deng, Adam Doyle and Anthony Drmic all in their first seasons as a pro.

Matt Hodgson and Nathan Sobey are hardly veterans either but Wright has backed in the youth to build something for the future.

However, with veterans Jerome Randle and Daniel Johnson showing the way, it has all come together quicker than anyone expected and Wright deserves plenty of credit for making that happen.

Other contenders
Rob Beveridge and Aaron Fearne have both done outstanding jobs in pulling together committed playing groups that have made the playoffs despite not having the budgets of most rival clubs. New Zealand’s Paul Henare had a lot to deal with in his rookie season as a coach and it’s a credit to him that he was one win from a playoff spot.

All-NBL First Team

Daniel Johnson – Adelaide 36ers (Daniel Johnson)
Torrey Craig – Brisbane Bullets (Casey Prather)
Casey Prather – Perth Wildcats (Brad Newley)
Nathan Sobey – Adelaide 36ers (Kevin Lisch)
Jerome Randle – Adelaide 36ers (Jerome Randle)

Daniel Johnson is a lock as the best centre in the NBL this season. He has been a major factor in Adelaide’s minor premiership with 14.6 points and 7.0 rebounds a game.

Without a genuine power forward who has stood out, I’ve gone with Brisbane’s Torrey Craig and Perth’s Casey Prather as the two forwards. Craig is more than capable of playing big as shown by his rebounding and defensive efforts throughout the season.

Prather had a scintillating first half of the season and then he almost took the Wildcats into the finals off his own back in the last round. That saw him earn a spot ahead of Brad Newley and Kirk Penney.

It’s really tough to go past Jerome Randle and Nathan Sobey in the back court because of how well they have combined with the 36ers to lead them to the minor premiership. Casper Ware, Kevin Lisch, Travis Trice and Rotnei Clarke all could lay claim to a spot but they’ve been the best back court all season and deserve that recognition.

All-NBL Second Team

Nate Jawai – Cairns Taipans (Cam Bairstow)
Brad Newley – Sydney Kings (Torrey Craig)
Kirk Penney – New Zealand Breakers (Kirk Penney)
Rotnei Clarke – Illawarra Hawks (Rotnei Clarke)
Casper Ware – Melbourne United (Travis Trice)

Finding a genuine centre this season to deserve a spot wasn’t easy and while he might not have been a consistent force, when Nate Jawai is up and going he remains impossible to stop. His patches of dominance were a big reason the Snakes made the finals and his 10.6 points and 4.3 rebounds a game is solid enough.

Again without another genuine big, I’ve gone with Sydney’s Brad Newley and New Zealand’s Kirk Penney in the forward spots.

Newley was in MVP form before a hamstring injury derailed his season and ultimately played a big factor in Sydney’s fadeout to missing the finals. But when he was healthy, he had an outstanding return to the NBL both with his shooting and ability to get to the basket.

Penney returned to the Breakers this season after several seasons in Europe and then a year with the Hawks, and he showed that age is no reason why he can’t still score big. He averaged 17.3 points a game and did all he could to try and get another playoff appearance.

Again the back court is where the greatest competition for spots lie and despite the strong cases Sydney’s Kevin Lisch and Cairns’ Travis Trice make, I can’t go past Melbourne’s Casper Ware and Illawarra’s Rotnei Clarke.

Clarke was outstanding for the Hawks once he moved to the best and he has helped lead his team into the playoffs.

Ware couldn’t get Melbourne into the finals but in his 18 games he averaged 22.1 points and 4.5 assists, and put in some stunning individual match-winning performances. He didn’t play enough to win the MVP but he deserves recognition for his efforts.

Lisch and Trice can consider themselves unlucky and Kevin Dillard (Breakers) and Bryce Cotton (Wildcats) could easily have made it had they played more than nine and 11 games respectively.