LeBron James was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, March 20 through Sunday, March 26.
James won the award for the second consecutive week after leading Cleveland to a perfect 3-0 record. James averaged a league-high 36.3 points during the week to go along with 8.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game. He hit the game-winning shot with 0.9 seconds remaining vs. Charlotte on March 22 to give Cleveland a 120-118 win in overtime. In that game, James posted his fifth triple-double of the season with 37 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists becoming the first player to put up at least those numbers in a game since Hakeem Olajuwon on Dec. 1, 1994. He scored 36 points (including a season-high 19 points in the fourth quarter) against Boston on Friday night as Cleveland posted a 94-82 win. At Houston on Sunday, James scored 11 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter in a come-from-behind overtime win at Houston.
It marks the fourth time this season and the seventh time in his career that James has won the award. He joins Gilbert Arenas and Kobe Bryant as the only players to win the award in consecutive weeks this season. James and Bryant are the only players in the NBA to win the Player of the Week Award four times this season. James was also named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month in November 2005.