No surprise here. In a week where Kevin Durant scored 54 points against the GSW and Paul George dazzled with what most are calling "the dunk of the year," was there really any question which two players should receive the league's weekly honor?
Today, the league officially named the Indiana Pacers' Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder'sKevin Durant as the recipients of the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week awarded for games played from January 13th-19th:
Just Announced: @Paul_George24 (30.7ppg, 3-0) of the @Pacers&@KDTrey5 (39.3ppg, 6.5apg) of the @OKCThunder named NBA Players of the Week.
— NBA (@NBA) January 20, 2014This is the third Player of the Week honor awarded to Kevin Durant this season (Nov 25-Dec 1; Dec 23-29; Jan 13-19) and the second time PG has been named as the recipient of the NBA's weekly honor (Nov 4-10; Jan 13-19). Notably, Paul George and LeBron James are the only two players in the Eastern Conference to be named Player of the Week multiple times this season.
In a week where the Pacers went 3-0 during their homestand against the Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers, Paul George made a major impact tallying a combined total of 92 points, 16 rebounds, and 7 assists. His finest performance of the week came during Saturday's match-up against the Clippers in which he scored 36 points in 35 minutes on 12-of-17 shooting, nailed 5 of his 7 attempts from behind the arc, went a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe, grabbed six rebounds, dished two assists, and recorded three steals. For a more detailed statistical breakdown on PG's stellar week that was, check out this rundown provided by NBA.com/stats:
EC Player of the Week @Paul_George24 avg. 30.7 Pts on 57.7% FG & 61.9% 3PT over a 3-game stretch. Indy won by an avg. of 22pts
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 20, 2014Regardless of his impressive individual numbers and team record, was there really any question that the Pacers' star was the most deserving recipient in the Eastern Conference for this award after he posted this eye-popping highlight...
Paul George shows the world how to dunk. http://t.co/2IooY2UMEi
— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) January 19, 2014