According to Perth, they still boast the best defensive player in the league and the best player to don Wildcats colours in the past decade.

And they are in hot form.

The reigning champions are in second spot on the table after a tough nine-day schedule that saw them play twice at home, in Melbourne and in Cairns.

They won all four games played in that period, impressively against top side the Sydney Kings, plus the South East Melbourne Phoenix, Cairns Taipans and Brisbane Bullets.

But Gleeson said he isn't paying much attention to the ladder position just yet.

"To build towards a champion team you have to keep on improving and I think we're taking steps towards that," Gleeson said after Saturday's win against the Bullets.

"In the back end of the season you look at the positions you can get.

"Halfway through the year, you want to develop chemistry and develop trust; you want to develop defence.

"We've ticked those three boxes and that's what we're focusing on at the moment."

The club identified those four games in under two weeks as being the toughest period for them during this season.

During it, Nick Kay stepped up and was three rebounds short of a fourth straight double-double performances.

And Bryce Cotton dropped 100 points.

On the back of that, Wildcats captain Damian Martin said he thought Cotton was the best player he had played alongside at Perth.

"James Ennis was a special player, but I think Bryce is the best player. I have played alongside in a Wildcats uniform and I don't say that lightly," he said.

"With guys like Jimmy, Matty Knight, Shawn Redhage, Kev Lisch, Terrico White and Casey Prather, Bryce is a very, very special player.

"(The opposition) are trying to pick their poison, almost guarding off me to have a second look at him; and he's dropped 100 points in those four games."

Despite the lesser attention, Martin didn't score against the Bullets in his milestone game (300th), but Gleeson said his skipper still impacted the game.

The coach said the team was still benefiting from having the best defensive player in the competition - a title Martin has claimed a record six times.

"Without question. Damo has to fight over every screen; getting screened by bigger guys, bigger bodies and he gets hit nearly every time," Gleeson said.

"He doesn't complain, just gets on to the next part and doesn't let the opposition get an easy point; he is still the best defender in the league without question."

Australian Associated Press