LeBron James won his second straight NBA Player of the Week award Monday. Kenneth Faried didn’t.
Last week’s winners were James, the superstar of the Miami Heat, and Faried, the emerging young forward of the Denver Nuggets. This week it is James – for the record 39th time in his career – and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James is practically making a mockery of the award. The Eastern Conference winner led the Heat to a 3-1 record while averaging a league-best 29.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists.
James scored 32 of his season-high 38 points in the second half of a 113-110 win at Houston and had 27 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and three blocks in a 98-93 win at Denver without injured sidekick Dwyane Wade.
Durant powered the Thunder to a 3-1 mark, averaging 28.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.75 steals and 1.75 blocks. That well-rounded play produced the first triple-double of Durant’s career as he collected 25 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 119-109 win over Golden State.
Other nominees included Atlanta’s Kyle Korver, Charlotte’s Kemba Walker, Detroit’s Greg Monroe, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph, Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings, New York’s Raymond Felton, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Portland’s Nicolas Batum, and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon.