Super League Basketball is delighted to announce the winner of the Molten Defensive Player of the Year award for the 2025/26 season, following a voting process involving the League’s Head Coaches, Captains and select members of the media.

London Lions floor general Tarik Phillip has won this year’s crown. The Great Britain international has proven a menace negating the primary ball-handlers of London’s opponents, and set the tone for the team on the defensive end in particular.

Phillip’s success in securing this award sees the 32-year-old add to his Molten All-Defensive Team of the Year selection which was confirmed last week, as the 6’3” Lions star was named to that roster alongside fellow London duo Deane Williams and Chaundee Brown Jr.

Coach Tautvydas Sabonis’ side have been by far the sternest defensive outfit in SLB this season, holding teams to just 73.5 points per game on average, almost 10 points less than the next best defensive team, with Phillip proving a key part of that identity.

Lions Head Coach Tautvydas Sabonis added:

“I’m very happy for Tarik to have won Molten Defensive Player of the Year. When he wants to, he’s a psychopath on defence, he can bump, break everything up, he can switch, he fronts, he’s tenacious, got quick hands, he’s aggressive, that dog mentality, he can really disrupt the games and really take players out of their rhythm.  That’s a lot of credit to him and his tenacity.

“One of the three, I thought had to win it; him, CB (Chaundee Brown Jr) or Deane Williams. They were all worthy winners but Tarik took it, because he’s disruptive, he does what we ask, he’s a heck of player, very important to us and I’m glad he won it.”

You can see the full voting record for the Molten Defensive Player of the Year below.

Voters were asked to choose their top three selections for the award, with the first choice earning three points, the second choice two points and the third choice one point, with the player who accrues the most points overall winning the award.

Voter	Position	Club	First Choice	Second Choice	Third Choice
Owen McCormack	Captain	Bristol Flyers	Michael Graham	Ria’n Holland	Matthew Nicholson
Andreas Kapoulas	Coach	Bristol Flyers	Deane Williams	isiah Small	Cole Long
Fraser Malcolm	Captain	Caledonia Gladiators	Tarik Phillip	LaQuincy Rideau	Michael Graham
Jonny Bunyan	Coach	Caledonia Gladiators	Tarik Phillip	Joel Scott	Isiah Small
Skyler White	Captain	Cheshire Phoenix	Michael Graham	Tim Adetukasi	Cole Long
Ben Thomas	Coach	Cheshire Phoenix	Ethan Price	Zach Anderson	Cole Long
Spencer Johnson	Captain	Leicester Riders	Haydn Ling	Deane Williams	LaQuincy Rideau
Rob Paternostro	Coach	Leicester Riders	Tarik Phillip	Deane Williams	Chaundee Brown Jr.
Ovie Soko	Captain	London Lions	Mitch Clarke	Deion Hammond	Cole Long
Tautvydas Sabonis	Coach	London Lions	Michael Graham	Tobias Cameron	Zak Irvin
Zak Irvin	Captain	Manchester Basketball	Tarik Phillip	isiah Small	Deane Williams
Matthew Otten	Coach	Manchester Basketball	Tarik Phillip	Chaundee Brown Jr.	Michael Graham
Darius Defoe	Captain	Newcastle Eagles	Chaundee Brown Jr.	Tarik Phillip	Matthew Nicholson
Marc Steutel	Coach	Newcastle Eagles	Deane Williams	Tarik Phillip	Matthew Nicholson
Rodney Glasgow Jr.	Captain	Sheffield Sharks	Tarik Phillip	Cam Holden	Chaundee Brown Jr.
Atiba Lyons	Coach	Sheffield Sharks	Chaundee Brown Jr.	Tarik Phillip	Deane Williams
Tayo Ogedengbe	Captain	Surrey 89ers	Tarik Phillip	Kyle Carey	Matthew Nicholson
Lloyd Gardner	Coach	Surrey 89ers	Chaundee Brown Jr.	Deane Williams	Zak Irvin
Anthony Rowe	Media	Not applicable	Tarik Phillip	Gabe Osabuohien	LaQuincy Rideau
Dan Routledge	Media	Not applicable	Gabe Osabuohien	Tarik Phillip	LaQuincy Rideau
Drew Lasker	Media	Not applicable	Deane Williams	Tarik Phillip	Gabe Osabuohien

Further end-of-season award winners will be announced in the coming days and don’t forget you can watch all the action from Sunday’s season-ending Play-off Final at The O2, London, and stay up to date via our social media channels by clicking here.