Basketball On The Internet.

THIS was a truly tough round to find our NBL Player of the Week, with the "rule of thumb" having to apply, reinforcing it had to be the best performance or performances if a team played twice.

So many did, with individuals standing out in one game or the other but never in both, virtually eliminating them.

That's the advantage of playing only once in a round. Play great and that player has a significant edge on anyone suiting for multiple contests.

That said, Brisbane, Cairns, Illawarra, Adelaide and Perth personnel all shared that advantage - but surrendered it when four of the five clubs lost!

Glen Rice Jr had a 26-point debut for the Breakers and 19 in their backup loss at South East, just as teammates Corey Webster again averaged 21.5 points and 5.5 assists. What a season he is having.

Chris Goulding shot down the Breakers with a match-winning 16-point third quarter en route to 24 in United's road win over New Zealand. He backed that up with 20 in United's rout of Adelaide.

But then, few would dispute Melo Trimble's 32-point effort was that game's standout performance.

Similarly for Sydney, Brad Newley was at his best as the Kings blanked the Bullets again, but when they routed Perth, it was Didi Louzada setting the Wildcats alight.

It completely negated Bryce Cotton's season best return of 36 points for the beaten and battered Wildcats.

Which left Illawarra's Next Star LaMelo Ball as the standout of the round after scoring an NBL career-best 24 points to spearhead the Hawks' 101-91 win over the Taipans in Cairns.

Ball also grabbed seven rebounds, dished nine assists and stole the ball twice, while also connecting on 5-of-11 threes - the area he has been most criticised for. His influence was huge, making him the first ever Next Stars candidate to win our Player of the Week accolade. 

BASKETBALL ON THE INTERNET PLAYER of the WEEK
Round 1 Mitch Creek (SEM Phoenix)
Round 2 John Roberson (SEM Phoenix)
Round 3 Andrew Bogut (Sydney Kings)
Round 4 Bryce Cotton (Perth Wildcats)
Round 5 Shawn Long (Melbourne United)
Round 6 LaMelo Ball (Illawarra Hawks)