Luka Doncic named Western Conference Player of the Week for second straight week

It comes as no surprise that the NBA announced Luka Doncic as the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Monday, December 26 through Sunday, January 1. This the second consecutive week that Doncic has received the honor and the first time he has notched the award in back-to-back weeks.

In the past week, Doncic posted averages of 48.7 points, 13 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 39.7 minutes per game, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 3-0 record. He also shot the ball extremely well, knocking down 61.7% of his shots overall and 48% of his attempts from deep.

In total, he recorded 146 points, 39 rebounds and 32 assists during the week. Doncic is the first player in NBA history to record 140-plus points, 30-plus rebounds and 30-plus assists over any three-game span.

He started off the week setting another NBA record. Against the New York Knicks, with former teammate Jalen Brunson looking on, Doncic had a career-high 60 points to go along with a career-high 21 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and one block in a career-high 47 minutes in Dallas’ 126-121 come-from-behind win.

His 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double was the first in NBA history. Doncic also became the second player to post a 60-point triple-double of any kind. James Harden had 60 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Orlando Magic on January 30, 2018.

Doncic followed up that performance with another triple-double against the Houston Rockets. He had game highs of 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists to go along with two blocks and one steal in the Mavericks’ 129-114 win. It was his fifteenth career 35-point triple-double.

He closed out the week, and the calendar year, by dropping a game-high 51 points on the San Antonio Spurs. Doncic scored 30 of his 51 points in the first half, to go along with six rebounds, a game-high nine assists, a season-high-tying four steals and one block in 37 minutes in the Mavericks’ 126-125 win.

This is the ninth time in his career that he has received Western Conference Player of the Week honors. Doncic is the first player this season to receive the award in consecutive weeks.