LeBron James named Eastern Conference Player of the Month
CLEVELAND -- The NBA announced Tuesday that Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James has been named the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for games played in March 2016. This marks the 19th time a Cavs player has earned Player of the Month honors and James' 31st, the most in NBA history.
In the month of March, James appeared in 14 games (10-4) and averaged 25.6 points on .538 shooting from the field, 8.2 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.1 minutes per game. Among Eastern Conference leaders, James ranked first in field goals made (136), tied for first in triple-doubles (2), second in points per game (25.6), fourth in total points scored (358), fifth in assists per game (7.1), sixth in plus/minus (116), tied for sixth in double-doubles (7), seventh in free throws made (70), 12th in rebounds per game (8.2) and 14th in field goal percentage (.538). The 12-time NBA All-Star registered seven double-doubles, which includes two triple-double performances in wins over Denver on March 21 (33 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) and New York on March 26 (27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists).
James was the only player in the NBA to average at least 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists last month. He posted the highest field goal percentage (.538) among all NBA players who averaged at least 23.0 points in March, while also topping 20 points or more in 12 of his 14 appearances, including eight contests with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. James scored in double figures in each outing to extend his double-digit scoring streak to 712 games, joining Michael Jordan (866) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (787) as the only players in NBA history to score in double figures in 700 consecutive games or more. He also shot at least .500 from the field on nine occasions last month.
The 6-8 forward had several historical achievements throughout March. Most recently, he moved past Dominique Wilkins (26,668) for 12th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list in the Cavs' 107-87 win over Brooklyn on March 31. Earlier in the month, he passed John Havlicek (26,395) for 13th all-time in scoring (March 7 versus Memphis), which was just one game after moving past Tim Duncan for 14th place in the March 5th win over Boston. James moved all the way up to 16th all-time in field goals made after passing Robert Parish (9,614) with his fifth make at New York on March 26. He also climbed the NBA's assists ladder last month, passing Kevin Johnson (6,711) for 19th place on the all-time assists list in the Cavs' road win over the Clippers on March 13 and Muggsy Bogues (6,726) for 18th all-time on March 18 at Orlando.
In 73 games (all starts) this season, James is averaging 25.2 points (sixth in NBA) on .512 shooting from the field, 7.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists (ninth in NBA) and 1.4 steals in 35.7 minutes per game. James and the Cavaliers are an Eastern Conference-best 55-22 on the season, which includes a 32-7 mark at Quicken Loans Arena.
Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook won Player of the Month accolades for the Western Conference.
(Cleveland Cavaliers press release)
