Cotton respect for Davis “above and beyond”

Bryce Cotton says his respect for Kendric Davis is “above and beyond”, as the two MVP contenders set to battle on Friday night. 

Davis heaped praise on Cotton last month, saying “if there was no Bryce Cotton, then there would be no Kendric Davis”, and the Perth Wildcats superstar has returned that appreciation for his Adelaide 36ers counterpart. 

“I would say from a mental standpoint and how we approach the game, me and Kendric are for sure cut from the same cloth,” Cotton said on NBL Now.

“The respect there is above and beyond, the amount of respect he got for me, I got the same amount for him. You wouldn’t want it any other way.  

“Just because you respect a player, that don’t mean you take it easy on him, you go that much harder because you respect him so much. It’s an honour to play against somebody like him.”

Cotton is averaging a career-high 27.7 points per game this season, while Davis is posting 25.3 points and 8.0 assists a contest. The two are set to feature heavily in the MVP conversation at Monday’s Andrew Gaze MVP Awards Night, which will be broadcast live on Kayo at 7:30pm AEDT.

Speaking to 10 News in Perth, Cotton said the “NBL hasn’t seen anything like this in the 40-minute era” in relation to the historic campaigns he and Davis are having. 

So Kylie Minogue has caused plenty of Lo-co-motion for Wildcats management and fans, but the man who usually entertains at RAC Arena hasn't been caught up in the ticket rush. In fact Bryce Cotton had to be told who the pop princess was | @PerthWildcats @10SportAU #10hoops pic.twitter.com/RuV9MVU7Vk

— 10 News First Perth (@10NewsFirstPER) February 4, 2025

Cotton added he can relate to playing against someone you used to idolise growing up, explaining how he had a similar experience when he first arrived to the NBL. 

“It made me feel a little old when he said he used to watch me, I guess when he was in high school,” Cotton said. 

“It was like a full circle moment for me because when I first came to the league when I was 24, I think maybe our third game or so was against Jerome Randle. 

“My brother had put me onto Jerome Randle when I was in high school, so I used to be a huge fan of him in college…I just remember what it was like being in those shoes.”

The Wildcats and 36ers clash on Friday night at 9:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.