97 Facts About Bryce Cotton

Bryce Jiron Cotton was born on August 11,1992 and is an American professional basketball player for Mets de Guaynabo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.

Bryce Cotton is a two-time NBL Grand Final MVP, eight-time All-NBL First Team recipient, and collected eight NBL scoring titles.

Bryce Cotton played in the NBA Development League, China, Turkey and Italy between 2014 and 2018.

Bryce Cotton won his third, fourth and fifth NBL MVPs in 2021,2024 and 2025 respectively.

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

Bryce Cotton reconnected with his father in New York while in college.

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

Bryce Cotton was advised during fifth grade to no longer play football due to the high risk of head injuries which could lead to seizures.

Bryce Cotton 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 Bryce Cotton experienced was on his final day of sixth grade.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bryce Cotton reportedly tried to obtain a scholarship from Houston Baptist.

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

Bryce Cotton was a bench player in his freshman season and was unable to break through in a rotation that featured MarShon Brooks, Vincent Council, Gerard Coleman and Duke Mondy.

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

Bryce Cotton 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.

Bryce Cotton was forced to step into the forefront for Providence to make up for injuries in the backcourt to Council and highly touted freshman guard Kris Dunn.

Bryce Cotton had to take on a leadership role with a young team.

Bryce Cotton registered his first career double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds against Bryant on November 12,2012.

Bryce Cotton led the Big East Conference in scoring with 18.3 points per game, becoming the fifth Friar all-time to lead the league in scoring.

In total, Bryce Cotton averaged 19.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 37.8 minutes per game over 32 games.

In those four double-overtime outings, Bryce Cotton played 200 minutes of a possible 200 minutes.

In 35 games as a senior, Bryce Cotton averaged 21.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Bryce Cotton led the Big East in assists and was second in scoring.

Bryce Cotton subsequently earned first-team All-Big East honors for the second straight season, as well as being named to the AP Honorable Mention All-America Team.

Bryce Cotton finished his career ranked fourth all-time in scoring at Providence, and became the fifth player from a major conference to average 20-plus points and five-or-more assists in a season since 2002.

Bryce Cotton graduated from Providence with a 3.1 GPA in sociology.

Bryce Cotton played in six Summer League games and five preseason games for San Antonio, before being waived on October 23,2014.

Bryce Cotton subsequently joined San Antonio's NBA Development League affiliate team, the Austin Spurs.

Bryce Cotton scored in double figures on 31 occasions and recorded 20-plus points in 20 games.

Bryce Cotton registered 40-or-more points twice, including a season-high 43 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and two steals against the Reno Bighorns on February 19,2015.

On February 24,2015, Bryce Cotton signed a 10-day contract with the Utah Jazz.

On November 25,2015, after four games with Austin, Bryce Cotton signed with the Phoenix Suns.

Bryce Cotton had three steals and two assists in just over 21 minutes off the bench.

Bryce Cotton appeared in the Suns' next two games before being waived on January 7,2016.

Bryce Cotton appeared in five games for the Grizzlies before parting ways with the team prior to the start of the playoffs.

Bryce Cotton averaged 8.0 points in 10 EuroLeague games and 10.4 points in seven Turkish League games.

Bryce Cotton set a Wildcats scoring record on NBL debut four days later with 26 points against the Sydney Kings, eclipsing James Ennis' 25-point NBL debut with the Wildcats in 2013.

Bryce Cotton had a team-high five assists and three steals.

Bryce Cotton shot 12-of-17 from the field, 7-of-12 from 3-point range, and 14-of-15 from the free throw line in game three, with his 45 points setting the new all-time NBL Grand Final scoring record.

Bryce Cotton was considered a long-shot to re-join the Wildcats and reportedly turned down an offer from Spanish club Unicaja Malaga.

Bryce Cotton led the league in total points scored with 544, averaging 19.4 points per game.

Bryce Cotton became just the third Wildcat to win the award, joining Paul Rogers and Kevin Lisch.

Bryce Cotton had a season-high 23 points in his third game.

On June 5,2018, Bryce Cotton signed a three-year deal to return to the Wildcats, with the contract including an NBA out-clause.

At the NBL Pre-Season Blitz, Bryce Cotton won the Ray Borner Medal as tournament's most valuable player.

Bryce Cotton later missed the Wildcats' New Year's Eve game against the Taipans in Cairns due to hamstring tightness.

Bryce Cotton responded with 100 points over the next four games to help the Wildcats win four straight.

Bryce Cotton did so in 94 games and 3,165 minutes, beating former teammate Shawn Redhage's previous record of 95 games and 3,400 minutes.

Bryce Cotton finished the regular season as the NBL's scoring leader, averaging 22.6 points per game.

At the NBL's end-of-season awards night, Bryce Cotton was named in the All-NBL First Team for the third straight year and claimed the NBL Most Valuable Player Award for the second time in three years.

Bryce Cotton became the first player to make 10 3-pointers in an NBL semi-final.

The Wildcats went on to lose game two with Bryce Cotton scoring 11 points, before going on to win game three despite Bryce Cotton only scoring five points.

Bryce Cotton became the first player in Wildcats history to be named league MVP, grand final MVP and win a championship all in the same season.

Bryce Cotton scored 20 second-half points in leading a 26-point comeback.

Bryce Cotton hit the game-tying buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.

Bryce Cotton averaged career highs in points and assists, earning his fourth NBL scoring title.

Bryce Cotton was named NBL MVP for the third time, becoming the first player to win back-to-back MVPs since Andrew Gaze in 1998 and joined Gaze and Leroy Loggins as the only three-time winners.

Bryce Cotton was voted Fans MVP and named to the All-NBL First Team for the fourth consecutive season.

On January 22,2022, against the Illawarra Hawks, Bryce Cotton played his 150th game for the Wildcats.

Bryce Cotton scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the first half.

Bryce Cotton made a 3-pointer and was fouled with 1.4 seconds to play, missing the free throw and seeing Perth to the win.

Bryce Cotton played all 28 games and totalled 635 points, the most points scored by Cotton in a 28-game regular season.

Bryce Cotton hit 88 3-pointers, the most ever by a Wildcat in a regular season.

Bryce Cotton was named to the All-NBL First Team for the fifth straight year and was named Wildcats Club MVP for the fourth time.

On May 4,2022, Bryce Cotton re-signed with the Wildcats on a new three-year deal.

Bryce Cotton was named to the All-NBL First Team for the sixth straight year.

Bryce Cotton was named Wildcats Club MVP for the fifth time.

Bryce Cotton averaged 15.2 points on 32 per cent from the field over the first four rounds, where he had two matches scoring 11 points and one where he was restricted to seven points.

Bryce Cotton became the third player in the NBL's 40-minute era to score 5000 points, joining Chris Goulding and Daniel Johnson.

Bryce Cotton led the league in minutes played with a career-high 37:31 per game.

Bryce Cotton was named NBL MVP for the fourth time, becoming the second player after Andrew Gaze to win four MVPs.

Bryce Cotton was voted Fans MVP and named to the All-NBL First Team for the seventh consecutive season.

Bryce Cotton was touted as Australian sport's most dominant athlete of the last decade.

Bryce Cotton went on to set a record-equalling sixth Wildcats Club MVP, joining Ricky Grace and Shawn Redhage as six-time winners.

Bryce Cotton was limited to nine shots and seven free throws in game three, with Tasmania consistently denying him the ball.

Bryce Cotton led the league for average time on court for the sixth year in a row.

The Wildcats went on to lose their next three games with Bryce Cotton averaging a career-low 18.8 points per game.

Bryce Cotton remained in the game for another two minutes before leaving the court in pain and was later rushed to hospital with an expected fractured rib.

Bryce Cotton was cleared to fly home from Auckland with the team the next day and was later ruled out for roughly a month.

Bryce Cotton had 20 points in the opening quarter, 11 in the second, 17 in the third and 11 in the fourth.

Bryce Cotton was named NBL MVP for the fifth time, alongside All-NBL First Team for the eighth consecutive season, as well as Fans MVP.

Bryce Cotton went on to win his seventh Wildcats Club MVP, setting a club record.

On March 6,2025, Bryce Cotton signed with Mets de Guaynabo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional for the 2025 season.

Bryce Cotton has one brother, Justin Tarpley, and two half-brothers, Chaz Cotton and Elijah Cotton.

College life allowed Bryce Cotton to reconnect with his father in New York and meet his half-brothers.

Bryce Cotton married for the first time in 2014 to fellow Providence graduate, Simone Tubman.

Bryce Cotton later married for a second time to wife Rachel, who is from Perth.

In July 2019, Bryce Cotton applied for an Australian Distinguished Talent visa, as Basketball Australia worked to secure his eligibility for the 2020 Olympics.

At the time, Bryce Cotton believed that obtaining permanent residency through the Distinguished Talent visa would expedite the process for Australian citizenship.

Additional delays arose in 2025 due to Bryce Cotton spending over 90 days outside of Australia in the previous 12 months.

In January 2024, Bryce Cotton stated that he was no longer interested in representing Australia, citing his frustration at the numerous delays and setbacks he experienced in his bid to gain Australian citizenship.