On Sunday, the NBA announced that Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the games played from Monday, January 11 to Sunday, January 17. As a Net, it is Durant’s first honour and the 27th Player of the Week title in his entire career.
Brooklyn registered a 3-0 week thanks to Durant, recording averages of 34.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.3 blocks in 35.4 minutes per game while shooting 61.3 percent from the field, 60.0 percent from the three-pointer arc and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.
His 34.0 points per game were the most number of points per game in the entire league among players to appear in multiple games in the week. Brooklyn’s biggest forward opened the week by recording a game-high 34 points, nine rebounds and a season-high 13 assists, one short of matching with his career-high of 14 assists, in 36 minutes, and leading the Nets back to a win from an 18-point deficit. Brooklyn led to a 122-116 victory against the Denver Nuggets at the Barclays Center on January 12.
Durant has set franchise records for consecutive games scoring a minimum of 25 points (nine), the most points scored through a player’s first 10 career games as a Net (307) and the most number of points scored by a Net in their first 10 games in a season.
Also announced on Sunday, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week ending on January 17.
Lillard averaged 30.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.25 steals while shooting 46.2 percent from the field, 39.5 percent from the three-pointer line and 100% from the free-throw line, this week.
Lillard led the Trail Blazers to a 3-1 record, winning games against the Raptors, Hawks and Kings. Lillard led the Western Conference in total number of points (121) and free throws converted (34) while standing third in three-pointers made (15) and fourth in total number of assists (29).
On January 11 against Toronto, Lillard started the week with 23 points. On January 13 at Sacramento, he scored 40 points. With that, he became the first player in the history of the league to register more than 40 points and more than 13 assists without a single turnover since turnovers were officially recorded in the 1977-78 season.
This marks the first time this season and the 10th time in his career that Lillard has been named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week. He is tied with Clyde Drexler in franchise history, for 10 Player of the Week titles.
