RIGA (Latvia) - Germany's Isaac Bonga took his spot in the FIBA EuroBasket history books by becoming the first-ever winner of the Best Defensive Player award, introduced for the 2025 edition.
The 25-year-old forward was a force at the defensive end throughout the tournament in helping Germany win their first EuroBasket crown since 1993 after an 88-83 win over Türkiye.
Bonga was a strong all-around contributor for the Germans, averaging 9.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He spearheaded Alan Ibrahimagic's defense with 1.4 steals to go with 6 total blocks in 9 games.
The German coaching staff regularly called on the versatile to stop the opponent's biggest offensive weapon. In the Group Phase win over Finland, Bonga played a major role in limiting Lauri Markkanen to just 11 points - 18 points fewer than his scoring average coming into the game.
Luka Doncic did score 39 points in the Quarter-Finals against Germany, but Bonga made things difficult for the Slovenia star as he made just 11 of 25 attempts for 44 percent.
Bonga found himself guarding Markkanen again in the Semi-Finals and once again the Finnish star never was able to find a rhythm. He made just 6 of 17 shots for 35 percent and he totalled 16 points.
In the Final, Bonga showed what he can do offensively as well with a team-high 20 points to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
FIBA