A successful season for London Lions saw four players named to the Molten BBL and WBBL teams of the year.
DeAndre Liggins and Dirk Williams were named to the men's team while Kennedy Leonard and Cassie Breen grabbed spots in the women's equivalent.
Former NBA man Liggins was also named in the Molten BBL Defensive Team of the Year, leading the league in weekly All-Star 5 appearances with 11 across the season, and finished third in the BBL in assists per game (6.9), eighth in steals (1.6) and fifth in three-pointers made with a total of 65 at an accuracy of 41%. Effective at both ends of the floor all season long, Liggins also contributed 14 points and five rebounds per outing while doing a little bit of everything for his team. The Lions lifted the BBL Trophy in March and he was huge across the board in that game, winning the MVP award with 19 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals. He was a player who flirted with triple-doubles throughout the season, finishing with eight double-doubles, including 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as they beat title rivals Leicester in January. He hit a season-high 33 points against Surrey Scorchers in April as the Lions pushed the title race all the way to the final games.
Williams joined the Lions from BBL rivals Sheffield Sharks, but it's his first appearance in the Team of the Year in his third season playing in England. He was the league’s most prolific three-point shooter, draining a total of 91 triples on the campaign, which was fully 25 clear of his nearest rival, Sam Cassell. Coming at a deadly accuracy of 39.7%, he also continued to demonstrate his athleticism going to the hoop, scoring 59% on the inside (ninth in the BBL), and showing his pure shooter’s touch with 89% at the free-throw line (fourth in the BBL). In all, he was tantalisingly close to being just the fourth 50-40-90 shooter in BBL history. Receiving eight votes from BBL Head Coaches, he was second in the league in scoring at 18.8 points per game, with four rebounds and two assists on average. He scored in double-figures in all of London’s last 12 games as they hunted down the title, with season highs of 37 against Manchester Giants and 35 against Surrey, scoring 20 points or more on 13 occasions.
In her first season in the WBBL, Leonard has made a record-breaking impact and has already featured in both the Molten WBBL British and Defensive Teams of the Year. She was one of only five players to average a double-double with 15.7 points and 11.3 assists per outing, breaking the total assists record with 225 in the campaign and also the single game record when she handed out an astonishing 21 assists against Caledonia Pride in March. She scored in double-figures in all but one game, had 12 double-doubles and finished the regular season with a first triple-double of 24 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds against Durham Palatinates, adding eight steals for a near quadruple-double. She was MVP as the Lions lifted the WBBL Trophy, getting them off to a fast start in a dominant performance before finishing with 21 points, nine assists, seven steals and six rebounds while this weekend's Play-off final success that saw another triple double.
Michigan-native Breen was another key addition in transforming the Lions this season, after professional stints in Spain and Germany, and as the all-time leader in made three-pointers following a four-year career at Central Michigan University. Her long-range prowess was immediately evident as she knocked down an astonishing 19 triples in her first three league games with a season high of seven makes against Nottingham and Oaklands in that spell, and a season high of 35 points in the first of those games. In all, she was the league’s most accurate volume three-point shooter at 43.6% and was second in total makes with 61 on the league season. She was fourth in the WBBL in scoring with 18.7 points per game, and proved her shooting accuracy across the court as she was ninth in field goal percentage (47.9%) and second with an amazing free-throw accuracy of 93.8% at an astonishing 62-66 for the season. Like Dirk Williams on the men’s London Lions team, she was agonisingly close to a 50-40-90 shooting campaign. She also scored 25 points, making all 10 of her free-throws, in lifting the WBBL Trophy.
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