What makes Kell III an MVP candidate

It was yet another player of the game performance by Trey Kell III that has firmly placed the star guard into the MVP race, according to Derek Rucker.

“Bryce (Cotton) and Trey Kell are the two front-runners for me,” he said on NBL Now.

Kell III was enormous in the Hawks' big win over Sydney on Christmas night, dropping 26 points, to go with 6 rebounds and 8 assists.

One of the more underrated signings of the off-season, Kell III currently sits inside the top 10 for scoring and is a major reason why this Illawarra team sits comfortably on top of the standings.

“He is just consistently productive throughout the course of the game,” Rucker added.

“If he’s not scoring, he’s rebounding, he’s running the show from the point-guard position, until he gets himself going.”

After the Kings got off to a hot start on their home floor, it was Kell III and Tyler Harvey who put their team on their back and took over late to come away with a three point win.

Kell III had all 26 of his points after quarter-time.

“He has great timing and a sense of awareness when to really go forward with his scoring,” Rucker said,

“When he turned it on, the Hawks totally dominated that game.”

After a big clash against Brisbane on Friday night, Illawarra has time to rest and recover before it welcomes the South East Melbourne Phoenix to town on New Year's Eve.

Friday night's game will be on live on ESPN from 7.30pm AEDT.