Feature image: via Sports Imagery
The Rockingham Flames’ Devondrick Walker has been awarded the 2023 NBL1 West MVP.
Walker now is the back-to-back MVP of the West, winning the 2022 regular season MVP and Finals MVP last season for the Flames.
Walker averaged 27 points, shooting 53 percent from the field – including one of seven 50+ point games this regular season.
Walker told The West Australian, that he trusts the NBL1 National Finals championship coach Ryan Petrik to provide him with the best system for his own and the team’s success simultaneously.
“I’m happy to do that. It’s the respect I have for the coaches and our system,” Walker said.
“We are getting the job done and that’s a hats off to everyone else. It’s obviously a positive. To be here in this moment is amazing. I can look back and appreciate everything.”
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The Texan native has made his roots in Australia, for the past three years he has played for two NBL clubs and the Flames, as well as a stint in the NZNBL.
Now with his wife and child, Walker says overseas clubs aren’t able to lure him away from the Australian lifestyle.
“I’ve been playing for 11 years. Getting married in the last couple of years and having a kid, I can see what’s most important,” he said.
“In the first seven or eight years of playing, it was about chasing the money and opportunities. Now, I want to see something that is solid and secure because there is no security in this game. As a travelling American athlete, you’ve got to find security for your family. That’s all it is about and this is a beautiful country.”
The Rockingham Flames start their journey to go back-to-back in the NBL1 West on Friday night, taking on the Perry Lakes Hawks from 7:00pm AWST streaming live via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App here.
