Former Penn State guard D.J. Newbill ended his collegiate career with the Nittany Lions at the start of 2015.
Ten years later, he became the BCL Asia 2025 Most Valuable Player.
In Utsunomiya's game against Al Riyadi, Newbill helped lead his team to a 94-93 victory and championship win. The guard had 21 points, two rebounds, and five assists in the final. With 23.6 seconds left of the game, according to Fiba Basketball, Newbill bounced the Brex back from a 93-91 trail and hit a 3-pointer.
His leadership and talent was undeniable throughout as the guard had a similar performance in the quarter finals against Tabiat. In another 94-93 win, Newbill launched a 3-pointer with 17.4 seconds left. He had a 29-point game against Tabiat in the double overtime match.
This was Japan's second title win in program history. Both times, Utsunomiya had to defeat Al Riyadi for the title. Japan was crowned its first championship in 2019, one year before Newbill joined the Brex.
He was recognized alongside the other honorees of the All-Star Five: teammate and forward Finn Delaney, Al Riyadi's Hayk Gyokchyan and Thon Maker, and Ulaanbaatar Xac's Ian Miller. Newbill also joins Brex coach and Penn State alum Tom Hovasse in representing the Nittany Lions overseas.
Newbill is currently fourth in the league in points with an average of 24 and first in assists with an average of 7.4. His 2024-25 award follows his MVP honor from the 2023-24 season. The two-time MVP guard is considered one of the best to step on the court in Japan. After being honored most recently as MVP, he designated his award to his head coach Kevin Braswell who passed away during the 2024-25 season on Feb. 24 in a post on X.
After one year at Southern Miss, Newbill transferred to Penn State. As a Nittany Lion, he totaled at least 34 minutes per season on average. In his senior year, he had 704 points, 160 rebounds, and 44 steals. He was a two-time All-Big Ten player and was Penn State's MVP three times.
Following his NCAA stretch, Newbill went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft and became an unrestricted free agent. He decided to go overseas to continue his basketball career, bouncing around France, Turkey, Belgium, New Zealand, Poland, Australia, and Russia. In 2020, he found his home in Japan, following a series of Penn State alum. Ed Fogell played with Hovasse in the 1990s, according to Penn State Nittany Lions on SI, and John Harrar also played for Japan.