Have your say on this week's choices and give a shout-out to the players you think deserve one using the hashtag #NBL2425. Don't forget to tag us!
X: @NBLengland
Facebook: @NBLengland
Instagram: @nblengland
We'll pick a Player of the Week and four other selections to round out the Team of the Week, paying attention to the following criteria:
Other players will also receive a shout out as honourable mentions at the bottom of the piece.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Blain was a key difference-maker in a huge road win for the Knights this weekend, as they saw off Nottingham Hoods 85-81.
Newcastle trailed by double digits well into the third quarter and by four points with 2:32 remaining in the game, but both times the North East side answered the call to seal a valuable W.
Blain scored six of Newcastle's eight points in that final two-and-a-bit-minute stretch as part of a 31-point outing, a game-high, to go with 10 boards and a pair of steals.
The American worked almost exclusively in the paint to earn his scorers (11/15 2pt), though did go 2/3 from deep when given the chance to fire from beyond the arc.
KJ Johnson has already made a splash in the NBL after signing for the Breakers this off-season and the past weekend was no exception.
Johnson's 31 points helped push MK into the KitKing Trophy Final at Hemel's expense, with Storm struggling to slow down the talented guard.
Seven boards and eight dimes had the University of North Alabama product on triple-double watch, also drawing a bruising 11 fouls in the contest as the visitors did anything they could to slow the tide.
A huge double-double from Emmanuel Kanwei helped Essex scrape past a gutsy City of Birmingham Rockets, winning 79-77 after two period of OT.
The forward's efforts on the boards certainly didn't go unnoticed as the Rebels won the battle on the glass 75-58.
Kanwei also pulled down a game-high five offensive boards in his haul, with second chance points making a big difference in the tightest of ball games.
After a slow start to the season, Derby's David Simental is really hitting his stride in recent weeks.
His latest outing was also a good one as he put basement side Bradford to the sword, netting a game-high 35 points on 65% shooting from the field as the Trailblazers won 99-68.
Going 6/7 from the stripe when fouled, Simental also pulled down seven boards and dished a couple of assists to bump up his efficiency even higher.
It's back-to-back Team of the Week selections for Reading Ty Nsangu after another stellar outing for the Rockets.
Nsangu netted his 18 points at an efficient 70% shooting, and seven of his 15 rebounds came on the offensive end.
Both his total rebounds and offensive rebounds were game-highs, whilst only Bristol's Elvisi Dusha could match his eight defensive rebounds in the 88-73 Reading win.
When going up against the likes of Daniel Edozie and Vilmantas Dilys, Nsangu's latest stat line was no joke.
Newcastle's win against Nottingham helped move the North East side back into the main D1M pack at 2-3, tied on four points with five other clubs.
Ronald Blain's efforts were stunning, but the Knights' supporting cast also deserve some recognition for the performance around the American's production.
Theo Riley's 12-point, 12-assist double-double kept the scoreboard ticking over for the visitors, putting points up himself on 71% shooting and bringing his team-mates into play whenever possible. His +/- of +9 in the four point win was also a useful contribution.
All five of Newcastle's starters scored 10 or more, and every bit of that offensive output was needed to overcome Greg Skoric's 21-point, 19-rebound double-double, plus another 20 points from Latrell Maitland.
With Worthing starting the season 0-4 after a 1-2 KitKing Trophy group stage, the Thunder faithful may have been forgiven for any doubts that were beginning to creep in about the 2024/25 campaign.
Late in the first half of Saturday's game though Worthing led Thames Valley by as many as 26 points, heading into the main change up 62-40.
That set the stage for a grandstand finish, with the Cavs slowly whittling away their deficit to trail by 12 going into the fourth and finally leading by one at 94-93 with two ticks remaining.
The crisis was averted by the cool head of Elijah Maynard, who managed to get to the foul line for the hosts despite the slender amount of time remaining, sinking both his free throws for a much-needed victory.
Worthing have already switched back to Zaire Taylor to lead the D1M side as Brian Deacon once again goes back to the club's junior ranks. It remains to be seen if this past weekend's result is the boost needed to get Thunder back up the standings.
Mitch Clarke (REA) - 25P/3R/7A/3S/32EFF
Elvisi Dusha (BRI) - 11P/9R/10A/22EFF
Jonathan Lashley (WOR) - 27P/13R/27EFF
Greg Skoric (NOT) - 21P/19R/28EFF
Theo Riley (NEW) - 12P/7R/12A/29EFF
.
Main image credit - Newcastle Knights
Team of the Week photo credits - Newcastle Knights (Blain), Carol Moir (Kanwei), Nick Higgins (Simental), Josh Nesden (KJ Johnson), Charlie Dodd (Nsangu)
