Liam Santamaria says Wani Swaka Lo Buluk is the NBL's Most Improved Player

NBL analyst Liam Santamaria says that Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings forward Wani Swaka Lo Buluk is the NBL’s Most Improved Player as of the middle point of the season. 

“For me, he’s the most improved player in the league this season,” Santamaria said.

“He’s the clubhouse leader for the most improved player. After a minimal role with the Wildcats to leading the Kings in minutes in multiple games, Chase [Buford] has had a tough time taking him off the court.” 

Swaka Lo Buluk was originally signed by the Kings as an injury replacement for Dejan Vasiljevic last season. He was upgraded to a fully contracted player this season because of his stellar play. 

The 20-year-old's defence and three-point shooting have been instrumental to the Kings’ success this season. 

Santamaria was asked in a recent interview with Kings Media which Kings player deserved to be talked about more. He answered Swaka Lo Buluk.

“Wani is that guy for me,” he said. 

“All of a sudden, he’s in the starting line-up getting all these key [defensive] assignments. I go back to that game against the Wildcats against Cotton; he made Bryce's life really difficult. That job as the primary defender against Cotton is a really key one."

In the Kings’ first game against the Perth Wildcats, Swaka Lo Buluk held three-time league MVP Bryce Cotton to 6/17 [35 percent] from the field. 

In a post-game press conference, coach Chase Buford praised his efforts. 

“He [Cotton] got a couple buckets early and I was into Swak saying "Hey, you gotta be better", and from that moment on, I thought Swak was terrific,” Buford said. 

“It’s come to a point now where no one is surprised. We just expect it from him. Because he’s such a terrific defender, he competes so hard and that’s how he earned the starting job.” 

In Perth last season, Wani played 4.2 minutes per game, and only started one game before this season in his career. With the Kings this season he is averaging 26.3 minutes per game and has started 14 games this season alone. 

He’s also upped his points per game. From just over one point per game last season, Swaka Lo Buluk is now averaging 5.6 points per game. 

Santamaria praised Swaka Lo Buluk’s improvement through the things he does game-to-game that often go unnoticed.

“Just as a guy who is bringing the heat defensively and doing all the right things on the offensive end - he knows his role and moves the ball at the right time,” Liam said. 

“As I said on the Huddle with Damian Martin recently, I am trying to get an early start on the Wani Most Improved Player push. 

"His numbers don’t always jump off the box score, but you need people watching the games to recognise how much of an important job he’s doing for the team.”

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