Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has been named the NBA’s Player of the Week for the Eastern Conference, while Kings guard Zach LaVine has won the award for the Western Conference, the league announced today (via Twitter).
It has been a few weeks since the NBA handed out Player of the Week honors due to the All-Star break, which resulted in multiple shortened weeks. Brunson and LaVine won for games played between February 24 and March 2.
Brunson and the Knicks went 3-0 during that stretch, with victories over Philadelphia, Memphis, and Miami. The star point guard led the way by averaging 29.3 points, 6.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 38.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .477/.364/.857.
It’s the second time this season that Brunson has been named the East’s Player of the Week — he also won the award on December 2. This time around, he beat out a group of nominees that consisted of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and De’Andre Hunter, per the league (Twitter link).
LaVine, meanwhile, hit his stride last week after an up-and-down start with his new team in Sacramento. The former Bull helped lead the Kings to a 3-0 week that included wins over Charlotte, Utah, and Houston. He posted a scorching-hot .623/.636/.667 shooting line, averaging 28.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. Sacramento outscored opponents by a total of 67 points during his 106 minutes on the floor.
Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Shaedon Sharpe were also nominated in the West, according to the NBA.