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9 December 2025  5 min read

NBL/WNBL Players and Teams of the Week - 6/7 Dec 2025

Chosen in conjunction with Darren Paul and the FocusHoops team, who assess the best and brightest in D1W, and the BE team, you can have your say on this week’s selections and give a shout-out to the players you think deserve one by using the hashtag #NBL2526. Don’t forget to tag us!

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How it works

Each week, a standout player plus four other worthy selections will be put forward to make the Player and Team Of The Week in both D1M and D1W, paying attention to the following criteria:

• Efficiency
• Stats
• Team and opposition strength
• Periods of influence in the game
• Being on a winning team (exceptional performances from players on losing teams will be considered for TOTW)

Players of the Week

A triple-double and a standout forward's performance make up this week's picks, with BCU's Reiss Faure-Daley and Ipswich's Holly Ensoll collecting Player of the Week honours.

Faure-Daley put Leicester to the sword in Birmingham's 115-81 victory on Saturday, compiling a 19-point, 12-assist, 11-steal performance that provided ample quality and production at both ends of the court.

Adding four rebounds and a trio of threes as part of a 50% shooting afternoon (8/16 FGs), the former City of Birmingham Rocket did it all, providing the pick of the performances from a strong week of contenders in D1M.

For Ensoll, she stood tallest (quite literally given her 6'6" stature) in one of the weekend's biggest games. It's no secret that CoLA and Ipswich have dominated women's basketball in recent seasons, so for Ensoll to provide a 16-point, 12-rebound, seven-block performance against Pride this weekend, it was the perfect blend of situation and production to earn a POTW nod.

The young forward is quickly developing into a key piece of Ipswich's rotation, enjoying a rapid ascent to her game as Coach Drane's side look to continue as a D1W championship contender.

Ensoll also played her part in limiting another of D1W's premium young forwards, Adaora Dioramma, to a 2-16 FG afternoon, allowing Ipswich to seal a hard-earned 59-52 victory.

D1M Team of the Week

Reiss Faure-Daley - Birmingham City University (19pts, 4reb, 12ast, 11stl, 33eff)

Hamza Ibrahim - Sheffield Arrows (36pts, 12reb, 2ast, 36eff)

Joshua Mendes - Barking Abbey (14pts, 15reb, 3stl, 28eff)

Earl Burgess - Worcester Wolves (23pts, 13reb, 3stl, 30eff)

Sam Toluwase - Birmingham City University (29pts, 9reb, 6ast, 3stl, 35eff)

POTW Faure-Daley is joined this week by BCU team-mate Sam Toluwase, who produced an almost equally impressive stat-line against Leicester that swapped out some assists and steals for points and rebounds instead.

Hamza Ibrahim continues to live in the TOTW, rarely shifting as he once again lifted his D1M PPG average with another impressive outing against Myerscough.

Joshua Mendes was the main man in helping Barking to take advantage of Solent's loss against CoLA, providing a game-high on the glass that made up a 14/15 double-double on 50% shooting.

Earl Burgess snags the other spot, with the Worcester standout providing game-highs in both points and rebounds as the Wolves eked out a slender 76-75 victory against Saint Helens Saints.

Honourable mentions

Sedale Hanson-Young - Sheffield Sharks II (26pts, 5reb, 4ast, 23eff)
Wayne Kitenge - Solent Kestrels (17pts, 12reb, 3ast, 27eff)
Callum Vines - Richmond Knights (28pts, 11reb, 3stl, 33eff)
Joshua Palmer - Greenwich Titans (11pts, 17reb, 7ast, 3stl, 28eff)
Khyle Capanzana - CoLA Southwark Pride (14pts, 4reb, 4ast, 5stl, 19eff)

D1W Team of the Week

Holly Ensoll - Endeavour Ipswich Basketball (16pts, 12reb, 2ast, 7blk, 28eff)

Abby Conlee - Anglia Ruskin University (28pts, 10reb, 3stl, 30eff)

Janice Monakana - London Cavaliers (28pts, 7reb, 4stl, 29eff)

Chinwe Iwunze - London Cavaliers (21pts, 5reb, 7ast, 25eff)

Ezekiela Oyeyemi - London All Stars (11pts, 14reb, 3stl, 20eff)

Ensoll's standout performance vs CoLA allows her to slot straight into this week's five, and is joined by ARU wing Abby Conlee following her 30 efficiency outing in Ruskin's 71-56 win against Loughborough.

London's Janice Monakana and Chinwe Iwunze proved too much for Bristol this weekend, as they do for most teams, with Monakana enjoying a game-high 28 points off the Cavs bench, whilst Iwunze played the provider with seven dimes to go with her 21 points.

Ezekiela Oyeyemi rounds out the quintet following her influential performance in London All Stars surprise 57-56 road win in Manchester.

Oyeyemi had a team-high +/- of +6 in the single-digit win, plus a game-high for rebounds and a team-high three steals, which all added up to a big impact in a low scoring contest.

Honourable mentions

Fannie Serrano - Brent Bulls (16pts, 4reb, 7ast, 3stl, 18eff)
Rebecca Brindley - Bromsgrove Bears (22pts, 9reb, 2ast, 13eff)
Veronica Iweanya - Bristol Flyers (11pts, 8reb, 12eff @CAV & 13pts, 23reb, 2ast, 2stl, 20eff vs BROM)

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Main image credit - Evie Beardsley