CLEVELAND – The NBA announced Monday that Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, December 5, through Sunday, December 11. This marks the third time James has won the award in 2016-17, increasing his total to an NBA-record 56 Player of the Week awards.
In four games this past week, James led the Cavaliers to the best record in the Eastern Conference at 4-0 after he averaged an NBA-high 32.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.25 steals in 38.5 minutes. He shot .585 from the field and .409 from the three-point line. Among Eastern Conference leaders, James ranked first in points per game (32.5), first in total points (130), first in field goals made (48), second in assists per game (8.0), tied for second in plus/minus (+62), tied for fourth in steals per game (2.25), tied for fifth in free throws made (25), tied for ninth in field goal percentage (.585) and tied for 10th in three-pointers made (9). He tallied at least 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists in all four outings and extended his streak of consecutive games with at least 10 points to 738 (third-longest in NBA history).
James, who was the only player in the East to average at least 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists, started off the week with 34 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals in 42 minutes during the Cavs’ 116-112 road win at Toronto on December 5. He followed that up with 25 points on 7-10 (.700) shooting, six rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in 32 minutes during a 32-point win (126-94) at New York on December 7.
In the Cavs’ 30-point victory (114-84) over Miami on December 9, James passed Elvin Hayes (27,313) for ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals in 37 minutes. He closed out the week with a season-high 44 points on 17-24 (.708) shooting from the field, including 5-10 (.500) from beyond the arc, nine rebounds, a game-high 10 assists and three steals in 42 minutes in Cleveland's 116-105 win against Charlotte on December 10. According to the Elias Sports Bureau,
James became the first NBA player to have at least 44 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and a .700 field goal percentage since Wilt Chamberlain on March 18, 1968 (53/32/14/.828). James also reached his 7,000th career assist with his fourth dish against the Hornets, becoming the first player in league history to amass 27,000 points, 7,000 rebounds and 7,000 assists.
With their four wins this past week, Cleveland is an Eastern Conference-best 17-5 on the season. James has appeared in 21 games (all starts), averaging 25.0 points (11th in NBA) on .517 shooting from the field (21st in NBA), 7.7 rebounds and a career-high 9.1 assists (fifth in NBA) in 36.4 minutes. Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies was named the Western Conference Player of the Week.
(Cleveland Cavaliers press release)
