Bryce Cotton

Bryce Jiron Cotton (born August 11, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL).

In the NBL, he is a four-time winner of the Most Valuable Player Award and has won three championships.

He is also a two-time grand final MVP, seven-time All-NBL First Team recipient, and has seven scoring titles.

Cotton helped lead Palo Verde to a 24–7 record and a berth in the state 4A semifinals in the 2009–10 season.

He also set a school record for the highest triple-double with 37 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against Rio Rico on December 11, 2009.

He averaged 23.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.7 steals per game as a senior, and scored 30 or more points nine times, including a career-high 40 points in an 85–82 win over Buckeye on February 16, 2010.

He earned First Team All-City and First Team All-State honors in 2010.

He also had perfect grades and a high GPA.

Cotton was not highly recruited out of high school.

He was turned down by Montana State and Northern Arizona, and was later also turned away by Division II school Chico State.

He also reportedly tried to obtain a scholarship from Houston Baptist.

Cotton's family could not afford to pay for college tuition and his scholarship dream looked over until Providence College made an offer just three days before freshman orientation.

After reportedly signing with Miami Dade College on August 18, 2010, Cotton instead committed to the Providence Friars on August 30.

He scored 15 points in the Friars' season opener against Dartmouth on November 13, 2010.

In 31 games as a freshman, Cotton averaged 4.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per game.

As a sophomore in 2011–12, Cotton became a starter and was the team's second leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game while shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range.

On December 10, 2011, Cotton scored 20 of his career-high 34 points in the first half of the Friars' 72–61 win over Bryant.

He went 11-of-16 from the field with a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line against Bryant.

He later scored 27 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, with a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point range and 10-of-12 from the free throw line against Louisville on January 10, 2012.

Cotton played college basketball for four seasons with the Providence Friars, where he was a two-time first-team All-Big East honoree in 2013 and 2014.

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Cotton had a number of short stints in the NBA over his first two professional seasons, playing for the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies.

He also played in the NBA Development League, China, and Turkey.

In January 2017, Cotton arrived in Australia to play for the Wildcats.

Two months later, he guided Perth to the NBL championship behind a grand final MVP performance.

After winning his first league MVP in 2018, he won his second and third NBL championships in 2019 and 2020 while also garnering his second NBL MVP and second grand final MVP in 2020.

He won his third and fourth NBL MVPs in 2021 and 2024 respectively.

Cotton was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona.

His parents separated when he was a toddler and his father worked as a police officer on the other side of the country.

His uncle, former NFL player David Adams, often provided the family with financial assistance during tough times.

Cotton's grandmother, Mary, helped raise him and his brother Justin while their mother worked in real estate.

Cotton loved sports as a child, playing basketball, football and baseball.

His brother, who was eight years older than him, played all three sports, with baseball being his favorite.

Cotton's initial favorite was football but he was advised during fifth grade to no longer play football due to the high risk of head injuries which could lead to seizures.

He was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy and his mother was told that he "wasn't going to make it past sixth grade, and that she should start planning for the funeral".

The last seizure Cotton experienced was on his final day of sixth grade.

He remained on medication for several years, but eventually no longer required treatment.

Focusing on basketball, one of Cotton's biggest deficiencies was his lack of height.

He worked with his uncle for an edge to combat taller opponents.

He spent much of his youth on outdoor basketball courts playing pick-up games.

After spending his junior year in Las Vegas, Cotton completed secondary school at Palo Verde High School in Tucson.