Fine 50: LeBron extends NBA record with latest honor
CLEVELAND -- The NBA announced Friday that Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James has been named the Eastern Conference Player of Week for games played Monday, January 4, through Sunday, January 10. This marks the second time this season James has earned Player of the Week accolades, as well as the 50th time in his career, the most in NBA history. It also marks the 50th time in franchise history a player has earned Player of the Week honors and the 31st time James has earned the honor as a member of the Cavaliers.
James led Cleveland to the most wins in the Eastern Conference this past week with a perfect 4-0 record, which includes three wins by double-digits and three road victories. In the four games, James averaged 26.0 points on .582 shooting from the field, including .400 from the three-point line, 7.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks in 35.0 minutes per game. Among Eastern Conference leaders, James was first in total points (104), first in field goals made (39), tied for first in points per game (26.0), fourth in total assists (28), tied for seventh in assists per game (7.0) and tied for seventh in three-pointers made (8). He also registered two double-doubles and made at least 50 percent of his field goal attempts in three games during the week. James scored in double figures in all four contests, increasing his double-digit consecutive scoring streak to 675 games (third-longest in NBA history), while topping 20 or more points three times, including two 30-point outings.
James, who was the only player in the NBA to shoot over .500 from the field and average at least 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists this past week, tallied 20 points on 7-11 (.636) shooting, seven assists and three steals in 31 minutes of Cleveland's 122-100 home win over Toronto on Jan. 4. During a 121-115 win at Washington on Jan. 6, James notched his 300th career regular season double-double after pouring in a game-high 34 points on 12-22 (.545) shooting, including 4-9 (.444) from the three-point line, a game-high 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in 40 minutes. In the Cavs' 125-99 win at Minnesota on Jan. 8, he nearly registered a triple-double with 13 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, a game-high eight assists, one steal and two blocks in 32 minutes. James closed out the week with a season-high tying 37 points on 15-22 (.682) shooting, including 3-5 (.600) from long range, seven rebounds, a team-high nine assists and two steals in 37 minutes of a 95-85 win at Philadelphia on Jan. 10.
In 2015-16, James has appeared in 34 games (all starts) with averages of 25.8 points (fourth in NBA) on .501 shooting from the field, 7.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 35.7 minutes per game. The 6-8 forward is the only player in the league to shoot at least .500 from the field while averaging at least 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists this season. James and the Cavaliers sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 26-9 record.
Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers was named the Western Conference Player of the Week.
(Cleveland Cavaliers press release)
