'Family mentality': Why Reyad West is Sheffield Sharks' unexpected players' player of the season

But for the man they were saluting, there was only surprise.

Reyad West, a 23-year-old homegrown player who has been afforded just 21 minutes across seven appearances this season, had just been named Sheffield Sharks’ players’ player of the year.

“I wasn’t even listening properly,” he admits of the moment his name was called out at the Sharks awards ceremony on Monday evening.

“So as soon as they said my name I was like: ‘wait, what?’

“I never thought it would be me. I thought it was going to Prentiss or Jamell (Anderson) - but I was happy to take it, it was a big honour.”

Clearly, the more senior players in the Sharks locker room had come together to recognise West for a selfless contribution in his rookie campaign in British basketball.

There were far more notable contributors on the court but it speaks to a team-first mentality - so crucial heading into the play-offs which begin on Friday - that they were willing to sacrifice personal awards for the good of team harmony.

For his part, West was blown away by the gesture from peers he sees as kindred spirits.

“Me and the team have really gelled. I’m younger than them all, they look at me like a bit of a younger brother, I show them the respect as I would my older brothers,” said West, who was raised in the inner-city Sheffield suburb of Pitsmoor.

“We get along well, they’re happy to share their experience with me, when they came to Sheffield I showed them around, showed them where to go for stuff.

“We share a lot in common in terms of our background and where we come from, even though it’s on the other side of the world.

“It’s not even a team mentality, it’s a family mentality.”

Despite having had limited opportunities on the court this season, West knew what he was signing up for.

After attending university in Manchester and then playing in Taiwan last season, signing a deal with a Sheffield club he grew up with was an opportunity to learn the professional game.

“I feel as though I’ve come a long way this season,” he says.

“I’ve been communicating well with Atiba (Lyons – head coach) and Sarah (Backovic – CEO) and the other coaches too, about my progress.

“They’re good at keeping me updated on how far I’ve come, especially in practice.

“IQ-wise I’m reading the game a lot better, I feel as though my basketball age has gone up.

“The game has slowed down a lot for me. I see everything happening a lot more clearly. At the beginning of the season it felt rushed, but now I’m understanding how to react to certain things.

“Because me and the coaches communicate so much it has made everything a lot easier. I’m here to take advantage of an opportunity, that means being patient and learning as much as I can this season, and then going into the off-season to work as hard as I can and see where that takes me.”

In the immediate future that is likely to mean two nights on the bench for Sharks’ players’ player of the year as they begin their play-off quest on Friday night in Cheshire, and then back in Sheffield for the second leg on Sunday (4pm).

“If the team is in a good position then I’m more likely to get some minutes but the only important thing this weekend is winning,” says West.

“The rest of this season is now about winning, not my development: doing what I can for the team rather than doing whatever I can for myself.”