The newly crowned EuroLeague Best Defenders offers his advice on limiting four elite players at the Final Four
How Nick Weiler-Babb would stop the Final Four stars
Final Four
4 Lesezeit
The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Semifinals are just two days away and Nick Weiler-Babb, this season’s EuroLeague Best Defender, may have the solution for stopping – or at least limiting – four of the key players involved.
On Friday night, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul face off in the first semifinal before Olympiacos Piraeus and AS Monaco lock horns in the second semifinal clash. With a spot in the EuroLeague Championship Game up for grabs, Kendrick Nunn, Wade Baldwin, Evan Fournier and Mike James have come under the microscope.
Ahead of these games, FC Bayern Munich’s Weiler-Babb spoke exclusively to Euroleague.net’s Geoff Gillingham to offer some tips on how to stop these four superstars.
But first, what is the most important thing to bear in mind in these win-or-go-home contests?
“Attention to detail,” Weiler-Babb said. “Every possession matters. You don’t have a second game to make adjustments, so just paying attention to details and the scouting report because you don’t have a second chance.
Kendrick Nunn (Panathinaikos)
The 2024-25 EuroLeague MVP also led the league in scoring, taking home the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer trophy as a result, and Weiler-Babb is a fan of his game.
“Just the way he can score at all three levels – he can get to the rim, he can also score from the mid-range, and he makes a bunch of tough shots,” he said.
So, how would the EuroLeague Best Defender go about stopping Nunn?
“He’s tough. He’s a high-level player, he goes both ways – he goes right just as well as he can go left. I think the best way to attack that is to keep forcing him inside. I think it’s easier to get a rhythm hitting tough shots from the outside than it is getting into the paint. I think that changes the momentum a lot more.”
Wade Baldwin (Fenerbahce)
A former teammate of Weiler-Babb’s at Bayern in the 2020-21 season, the Germany international has little doubt about Baldwin’s quality.
“I think he’s one of the best mid-range pull-up shooters in the EuroLeague, for sure,” he said.
All those battles in training, and in the four seasons that have followed on EuroLeague floors, make Weiler-Babb well-informed to discuss the ways in which Baldwin can be frustrated.
“I think just limiting his downhill ability, make him hit tougher shots and not let him get downhill.”
Evan Fournier (Olympiacos)
A newcomer to the EuroLeague, Fournier only faced off against Weiler-Babb once – in Round 5 – as he missed the Round 20 matchup between the teams, but one thing really stuck with Weiler-Babb from that night: the Frenchman’s mentality.
“His confidence really stands out,” he said. “I’ve seen games when he’s missed four or five shots in a row, but all it takes is one or two for him to turn it on.”
The Olympiacos star has an array of skills that make him one of the deadliest scorers in the EuroLeague, yet Weiler-Babb may have the recipe for frustrating him after holding him to just 4 points in Round 5.
“Just forcing him to use the dribble a lot more and not letting him get to his stepbacks or give him any space to shoot,” he said. “Just make him play off the dribble, more downhill.”
Mike James (Monaco)
Last season’s MVP is the all-time leading scorer in the EuroLeague for a reason, but Weiler-Babb is equally impressed by James’s playmaking skills.
“He’s got the ability to make tough shots,” he said. “He’s an underrated passer, for sure. People try to double-team him and he’s not afraid to make the pass to the open guy.”
Despite that, Weiler-Babb thinks restricting James scoring-wise is the key for anyone facing him.
“A guy like him, you’ve just got to make shots tough,” he said. “At the end of the day, you’ve just got to contest the shot and hope he misses it.”