PHILADELPHIA - eTradeWire -- Buffalo Bandits forward Josh Byrne, the National Lacrosse League (@NLL) leader in points with 135, today was named the League's Most Valuable Player for the 2023-24 regular season, edging Buffalo teammate Dhane Smith and Toronto Rock goaltender Nick Rose for the annual award.

Byrne, Smith and the Bandits travel to NLL Rookie of the Year Alex Simmons and the Albany FireWolves tonight for Game 1 of the 2024 NLL Finals presented by AXIA Time at MVP Arena in Albany (7 p.m. ET, TSN, TSN+, ESPN+, CW23).

With Byrne's win, the Bandits have now won two of the past three NLL MVP Awards (Smith, 2022), propelling them to the NLL Finals for three consecutive seasons.

Byrne, who was also named the League's Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday, led the NLL in points with 135, placing third in goals (53) and second in assists (82). He surpassed the career 200 goals and 400 points marks while helping the Bandits win six of their last seven games to earn the No. 4 seed in the NLL Playoffs in defense of their 2023-24 title. It is the first MVP award for the sixth-year performer.

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The All-NLL First and Second Teams were determined by the top vote-getters in each position-based award, and are comprised of six individuals per team consisting of two forwards, one transition player, two defensemen, and one goaltender:

2023-24 All-NLL First Team:

• Josh Byrne, forward, Buffalo Bandits (MVP and Offensive Player of the Year)
• Jeff Teat, forward, New York Riptide
• Ryan Dilks, defense, Vancouver Warriors (Defensive Player of the Year)
• Mitch de Snoo, defense, Toronto Rock
• Jake Withers, transition, Halifax Thunderbirds (Transition Player of the Year)
• Nick Rose, goaltender, Toronto Rock (Goaltender of the Year)

2023-24 All-NLL Second Team:

• Dhane Smith, forward, Buffalo Bandits
• Connor Fields, forward, Rochester Knighthawks
• Brad Kri, defense, Toronto Rock
• Kyle Rubisch, defense, San Diego Seals
• Ian MacKay, transition, Buffalo Bandits
• Doug Jamieson, goaltender, Albany FireWolves

Finalists for each award, announced last week, as well as selection criteria can be found here (https://www.nll.com/news/national-lacrosse-league-announces-finalists-for-2023-24-nll-awards/).

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http://www.nll.com