Kings center Domantas Sabonis And Cavaliers Point guard Darius Garland have been named NBA Players of the Week for games played between Jan. 6 and Jan. 12, the league announced Monday (Twitter link).
Sabonis, the Western Conference champion, led a 3-0 week for Sacramento, averaging an incredible 22.0 points, 20.3 rebounds, 7.3 in his three appearances (42.4 minutes per game). Assists and 1.3 blocks on .610/.750/.769 shooting. . As the NBA's leading rebounder for the third straight season (14.2 RPG), the Lithuanian big man posted a monster double-double in Friday's win at Boston, scoring 23 points and tying a career and franchise-high 28 rebounds. record.
After losing six games in a row, the last of which came after a shot Mike Brown and promoting the interim head coach Doug ChristieThe Kings have won seven games in a row. Three-time All-Star Sabonis has thrived during the team's dramatic turnaround, averaging 19.9 PPG, 17.3 RPG, 7.0 APG and 0.9 BPG on .600/.588/.714 shooting and 37.9 MPG.
Garland, who won East's Award, averaged 26.0 PPG and 7.7 APG on a stellar .528/.409/.929 shooting line, helping Cleveland to a 2-1 record (32.3) last week MPG). This season, the 24-year-old is just a fraction of a percent below the vaunted 50/40/90 club (.498/.429/.917 shooting distribution) of the Cavaliers, who own the league's best record of 33-5.
According to the NBA, the other nominees were in the West Devin Booker, Kevin DurantSabonis' teammates DeMar DeRozan And Malik Monk, Anthony Edwards, Jaren Jackson Jr., Alperen Sengun And Russell Westbrook. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Zach LaVineGarland's teammate Evan Mobley, Kristaps Porzingis And Jayson Tatum were nominated in the East (Twitter link).
