The NBA’s all-time leading scorer has received another accolade.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 30.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.7 assists and more than 1 block and steal per game from Feb. 26 to March 3.
During that span, James led the Lakers to a 2-1 record, including a must-win overtime triumph over the Eastern Conference bottom-dwelling Washington Wizards, and a rousing 21-point come-from-behind victory over crosstown rival Los Angeles Clippers.
The team’s one loss was a 10-point defeat at the hands of the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets, a game in which James became the first person in NBA history to score 40,000 career points.
James, 39 and in his 21st season, is averaging 25.3 points, 7 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game in 54 starts this season.
This is his 68th weekly award, also an NBA record, and his 7th as a member of the Lakers. It’s his first Player of the Week honor in more than a year.
With a record of 33-29, the Lakers are currently 10th in the crowded and ever-changing lower-half of the NBA Western Conference playoff standings, but appear poised to secure at the very least a bid in the postseason Play-In Tournament.
“It’s been in Ohio as early as the mid-1850s at least, brought in as an ornamental plant because of its unique foliage and white flowers,” Gardner said. “It was actually planted in people’s landscaping, and it has been spreading.”
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown was named Player of the Week in the Eastern Conference.
Brown’s teammate Jayson Tatum was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for February, with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić receiving the honor for the Western Conference.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for February. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was among the finalists for that award.