By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
When Gordon Herbert was the head coach of the German national team, he made sure Nick Weiler-Babb could get his passport to be naturalized and help Germany. Coming to Munich to coach Bayern, he made him one of the certainties of his team’s success in the EuroLeague.
The club’s trust in his abilities turned into the 29-year-old point guard reaping all the benefits, as he was named Best Defender of the Season in the EuroLeague for the first time in his career.
In the 2024-25 campaign, where Bayern is still fighting for a spot in the EuroLeague Playoffs by facing Real Madrid in the Play-Ins, Nick Weiler Babb has been leading the league in steals (1.6) and all guards in rebounds (4.2). He also averages 8.4 points and 5.0 assists per game.
Nick Weiler-Babb is the 2024–25 EuroLeague Best Defender! 🛡
The Bayern Munich guard becomes the first player in club history to win the award, voted on by EuroLeague head coaches 💯
He led the league in steals 1.6 and all guards in rebounds 4.2 anchoring Bayern’s defense all… pic.twitter.com/YH9rND0PMF
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) April 16, 2025
“Maybe [I wasn’t a defensive specialist] as much during my rookie year in Ludwigsburg, but [then-coach Andrea] Trinchieri was really big on defense, and it pushed me. I just kept it with me, I know it was gonna help my game in Europe,” he previously told Eurohoops about his defensive skills.
After five consecutive years when such an award was given to a center, it’s now the second season in a row where a guard has grabbed it. In the 2023-24 campaign, Thomas Walkup was named Best Defender of the Season.
Nick Weiler-Babb joined him, Dimitris Diamantidis, Adam Hanga, Andrei Kirilenko, and Victor Khryapa as the non-centers capable of being named Defensive Player of the Year in the EuroLeague.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague