'The best': Rillie's praise for Cotton's record performance

Rillie played nearly 500 NBL since his career began with a rookie-of-the-year season in 1995, and coached in the US and Australia since his decorated playing career finished up.

But he hadn't seen anything like what Cotton produced when he broke the Wildcats individual scoring record after dropping a whopping 59 on the Breakers in front of a season-high 12,505 fans at RAC Arena.

It beat the legendary James Crawford's long-standing record of 57, which he scored back in 1987 during a 48-minute game, while also eclipsing Bullet James Batemon's 51-point haul which was the previous best of the modern 40-minute era.

The four-time NBL MVP shot 18 of 28 from the field including seven triples, while he missed just one of his 17 free-throw attempts.

He’s the talk of the basketball world! 🏀 pic.twitter.com/SBe3RJKQDr

— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) December 2, 2024

His performance also included seven assists, three rebounds and a block as the Wildcats made it six home wins on the trot with a 123-112 victory over the Breakers.

“That was just music, that was poetry,” Rillie said.

“It’s the best. He was in a great groove. You could see the flow and the momentum in the first quarter. It’s challenging to make the shots he was making. When you have an elite shot-maker like that, it’s beautiful to watch.”

Cotton and the Wildcats are back on their home court once again this Friday night against Illawarra as the club celebrates Heritage Round.

The Wildcats will wear 1995-inspired uniforms in a special nod to the likes of Crawford, Andrew Vlahov, Ricky Grace, Scott Fisher and others who came from 1-0 down against North Melbourne Giants to win the championship.

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