Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, December 28, through Sunday, January 3, the NBA announced today. The award is the first career weekly accolade for Green and marks the fourth time a Warrior has won the award in 2015-16 after Stephen Curry was named Player of the Week in three of the season’s first six weeks.
Green led the Warriors to a 3-1 week with averages of 18.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.50 steals in 36.0 minutes, hitting 46.2 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three-point range (12-of-22 3FG). The fourth-year forward posted back-to-back triple-doubles on Dec. 31 at Houston and Jan. 2 vs. Denver, becoming the first Warrior ever to post consecutive triple-doubles twice in the same season (also did so on Nov. 27 & Nov. 28) and the first in the NBA to do so in eight years (LeBron James and Jason Kidd in 2007-08).
In Saturday’s overtime win over Denver, Green tallied season highs of 29 points and 17 rebounds to go with 14 assists, joining Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Larry Bird as the only players in NBA history to record those figures in a game. In his triple-double in Houston, Green dished out a career-high 16 assists (matching an NBA season-high with 12 assists in the first half), to go with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Green owns career highs across the board this season with averages of 15.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 35.2 minutes while hitting 46.1 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three-point range. The Michigan State alum now leads the league with six triple-doubles, tied with Guy Rodgers for the second-most by a Warrior in a single season (Tom Gola had a franchise-best nine such games in 1959-60).
Green is the 19th player in Warriors history to earn a weekly award, marking the 40th time a Warriors player has been named Player of the Week since the NBA began giving out the award in 1979. Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez was named Player of the Week in the Eastern Conference.