LeBron James Named NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week

In four games during the week, James led the Cavaliers to a 3-1 record by averaging 28.8 points on .506 shooting, 12.3 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game. James has now won the award 13 times in his career: three times this season, twice in 2006-07, five times in 2005-06 and on three occasions during the 2004-05 campaign.

James became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain from March 16-20, 1968 to average at least those numbers during a four-game span. He set a career high with four straight double-doubles during the week including two triple-doubles. He became the first player since Magic Johnson during the 1988 season to post triple-doubles in consecutive days twice in the same season (James did it on Feb. 19-20 and Nov. 24-25). During the first three games of the week, he posted at least 25 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists in each game. He joined Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only three players to ever reach those levels in all three categories in each of three consecutive games.

On Feb. 19 versus Houston, James posted 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and then followed that up the next day with 31 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists at Indiana. Against Washington on Feb. 22, James hit the game-winning free throws with 7.8 seconds remaining in Cleveland’s 90-89 win as he finished with 33 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. He tallied his fourth double-double of the week in Sunday’s win over Memphis with 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

The San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili was named the Western Conference Player of the Week. Other nominees for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week were Detroit’s Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace, New Jersey’s Richard Jefferson, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Toronto’s Chris Bosh.