Mountain West Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

1. Malachi Flynn

A 6’1 point guard from Tacoma, Washington, Flynn began his collegiate career at Washington State in 2016. He actually developed into a great player for the Cougars, with impressive figures in his sophomore season, but he opted to transfer following that year. Flynn would land at San Diego State and spend just a single season in the MWC, but it was some kind of season.

Flynn was new to the Aztecs but was the principal reason why San Diego State was the nation’s last undefeated team and finished the pandemic-shortened season with a 30-2 record. He averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game for the Aztecs. He had a 36-point performance at Nevada late in the year and was obviously a major factor on both sides of the ball in many of San Diego State’s wins across a historic season.

He’d lead the MWC in assists and steals and was one of the top scorers and his trophy cabinet reflected that success. Flynn was a Second Team All-American (the only MWC All-American this past decade) and was named both MWC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. From day one he became a star and a leader for an Aztecs team that had an incredible season from beginning to end. The eventual first-round draft picks’ lone complaint is the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament, eliminating his chance to shine on the national stage with those Aztecs.