Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week, while Knicks guard Kemba Walker has won the award for the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to a 3-1 record during the week of December 20-26, averaging 27.5 PPG, 7.0 APG, 6.3 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in those four games (36.9 MPG). He had a triple-double (27 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds) in Oklahoma City’s victory over Denver last Wednesday.
Walker, meanwhile, is this season’s most unlikely Player of the Week, having fallen out of New York’s rotation entirely for 10 games before being reinserted into the starting lineup on December 18 because so many Knicks players being in the health and safety protocols.
In three games this week, including a pair of wins, Walker put up 25.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 8.3 APG in 41.1 MPG. Like Gilgeous-Alexander, he had a triple-double, recording 10 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds in the Knicks’ Christmas Day win over Atlanta.
Gilgeous-Alexander beat out fellow nominees Stephen Curry, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and Dejounte Murray in the West. The East’s other nominees were Joel Embiid, Darius Garland, Kevin Love, Tyler Herro, Max Strus, Omer Yurtseven, and Jrue Holiday (Twitter link).
