Bryce Cotton has received a hero’s welcome from Perth Wildcats fans in a raucous and emotional tribute to the man who won five NBL MVP awards across nine seasons in red.

Cotton was playing his first game at RAC Arena since leaving the Wildcats at the end of last season, and the pre-game tribute matched the build-up.

A 45-second video played on the big screen before the national anthem with both teams standing on the court watching.

The tribute included a highlights package of Cotton’s brilliance along with audio of coach John Rillie, captain Jesse Wagstaff, NBL icon Andrew Gaze and former Wildcat Eric Watterson speaking glowingly about the megastar.

Fans gave him a standing ovation as he ran onto the court. There was plenty of showmanship to his arrival because he was the last 36er to run out. Then they chanted “MVP, MVP, MVP” after watching the tribute.

The cheering went on and on as Cotton acknowledged the fans, and at times appeared emotional as he bit on his shirt collar.

RAC Arena was packed to the rafters for the occasion. It was the second time Cotton had played against the Wildcats and while his first game in South Australia had a big build-up, it was nothing compared to the emotion of playing in front of the Red Army.

His arrival to the stadium was much more low key. He stepped onto the court at 12.45pm for his pre-game warm up, greeted several staff, hugged some familiar faces including former captain Damian Martin, and then got down to the business of preparing for the contest.

Cotton spent 19 minutes warming up and taking shots before leaving the court. But then he spent three minutes taking selfies and signing autographs with fans before heading back to the rooms with a wave.

Everything about Cotton’s day is different. He’s in a different uniform, warmed up at the opposite end of the court and is in the away changerooms. He’s got a different bench and will start the game shooting towards at the end he used to close out games from.

With the tribute completed, all eyes will now be on the game itself to see if Cotton can add another remarkable chapter to his stunning career by producing an epic performance.

He scored 23 points, scored seven three-pointers and had seven assists during the clash in November.