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
A tough one to argue against, Scarborough played an integral role in Milton Keynes' 83-62 road win against Essex on Saturday.
Being a key part in knocking off last season's league runners up is always going to turn heads, but a 27 point outing that resulted in a 36 efficiency ball game was more than enough to get the talented American the nod for this week.
Scarborough once again shot the ball efficiently, knocking down 11/16 from the floor (68%), and his 19 rebounds were also a huge difference maker as the Breakers won the battle on the glass 61-41.
It is still early days, but the 6’4” forward from Raleigh, North Carolina is already staking a claim for being one of the signings of the 2024/25 season.
It's always a debatable selection when a player doesn't pick up a W, Elijah Maynard was on the losing end of Worthing's 112-103 score line against Nottingham, but in this case the forward's production was simply too much to ignore.
A 46 point game is remarkable. A 50 efficiency game is even more remarkable. Maynard was at the heart of everything the Thunder did this weekend, including scoring nearly half of his side's points as he did all he could to topple the Hoods.
Seven rebounds were a bonus, as were a trio of assists, but Maynard's stats really pop when you consider he went 9/12 from beyond the arc and only picked up three of his 46 points from the foul line.
Playing a full 40 minutes, having the play usage needed to drop 46 points, and still only having two turnovers to your name? All that added up to a spot in the Team of the Week regardless of final score.
Powell didn't have the biggest numbers this past weekend in terms of points or efficiency, but he did play an integral part in helping CoB grab an 82-76 road upset against last season's regular season champs Derby.
Any of the Rockets' starters could have had a shot at this spot, such was the way the Midlanders spread their production around, but Powell got his head just above the rest due to his team-high 19 points along with four boards, four assists, and seven stops (four steals, three blocks).
Powell also drew a game-high seven fouls, netting 10 of his 12 shots from the charity stripe, to keep Derby at bay.
Five turnovers were also a team-high, but his overall output in one of the results of the weekend was enough to earn him a spot in this week's five.
Another team with multiple worthy selections, Hemel put both Trent Monkman and Sam Newman forward for consideration this week from the 87-79 victory over Bradford, but ultimately wider production trumped points scored as Darien Nelson-Henry instead steps forward.
His 8 points came on 3/6 shooting, but the former BBL winners wasn't far off a triple-double as he pulled down 10 boards and dished an incredible nine assists. That's a 6'11" forward with the basketball IQ, vision and ability to provide nine assists. Not something you see every day, and that helped the likes of Monkman (23pts) and Newman (22pts) to cash in on some great looks.
Nelson-Henry is currently shouldering a heavy load in the Hemel front court with the long term absence of one of D1M's premier forward, Hakeem Sylla. As long as the ex-Leicester Riders man can keep producing like this though, and getting the best out of those around him, Storm should be just fine.
Unsurprising given the number of points scored, but the Nottingham-Worthing clash provided a number of worthy TOTW options this week.
Hoods' forward Greg Skoric was the man who got his name called in the end, rounding out this week's five following his 25 point, eight rebound performance.
It was hard to see off team mate Landon Taliaferro's 30 point outburst, but Skoric did enough at both ends of the court to earn his pick.
Three assists, two steals and two blocks, plus 62% shooting that included an impress 2/3 from long range, the 6'11" was another big man showing high level guard skills this weekend.
In a result that few would have picked going into last weekend, City of Birmingham Rockets claimed an impressive 82-76 away win against Derby on Sunday.
With no real standout performers, the previously mentioned Zach Powell, 14 points apiece from Martyn Gayle, Lucas McGregor and Luke Okosieme and a handy 10 point, eight rebound effort from Orlan Jackman all combined to get CoB over the line.
The 31-18 final quarter was also out of the blue, with the hosts leading by as many as 11 points early in the fourth. Derby combined to shoot 3/13 from the floor and give away six turnovers in the final 7:02 of action, opening the door for the Rockets who graciously accepted.
It remains to be seen is how well Derby can bounce back from this early blow. They head out for a lengthy road trip to Worthing next Saturday, whilst CoB look to keep their momentum rolling at home in the battle of the Rockets, with Reading coming to town.
There was a lot for the Storm faithful to enjoy this weekend as Hemel fans saw their side open the D1M season with an 87-79 W over Bradford Dragons.
Darien Nelson-Henry's exploits have already been covered, but it will be pleasing to coach Mark Clark to see guards Sam Newman (22pts, 8reb) and Trent Monkman (23pts, 11reb, 4ast, 3stl) playing so well in the early going.
Matt Ellis has already demonstrated his quality during Hemel's run to KitKing semi-finals, and guard Tra'Michael Moton (1/13FG vs Bradford) is surely set for brighter days as he gets used to his new D1M surroundings.
Veron Eze was Hemel's third highest scorer this weekend, coming off the bench as sixth man to drop 16 points, and with Hakeem Sylla potentially returning at some point after the mid-season break, Hemel could be primed for another deep run in 2024/25.
Ed Lucas (TVC) - 26P/7R/6A/3S/29EFF
Trent Monkman (HEM) - 27P/11R/4A/3S/27EFF
Elliot Bailey (NOT) - 21P/10R/3A/27EFF
Landon Taliaferro (NOT) - 30P/2A/26EFF
Victor Ndoukou (LOU) - 19P/9R/4A/2B/25EFF
.
Main image credit - Josh Nesden
Team of the Week photo credits - Josh Nesden (Scarborough), Matt Cook (Nelson-Henry), Gary Robinson (Maynard), City of Birmingham Rockets (Powell), Rico Mariano (Skoric)
