Miami Heat forward LeBron James and San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.
James captured his third straight Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month award by ranking second in the conference in scoring (27.0 ppg), third in field goal percentage (.555), fourth in steals (1.92 spg), fifth in assists (7.2 apg), and 16th in rebounds (8.1 rpg). In January, James scored at least 20 points in 12 games, at least 25 points in seven games and 30 or more points in five games. He became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points when he achieved the feat at Golden State on Jan.16.
Parker helped the Spurs to a 12-3 record in January, tied with the Denver Nuggets for the best mark in the league. He ranked third in the conference in assists (7.9 apg), sixth in scoring (21.9 ppg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.563), scoring at least 20 points in 12 games , including two 30-plus point games. He notched five point-assist double-doubles during the month, including dishing out a season-high 13 assists in a 106-102 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Jan. 23.
Other nominees for NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez, Chicago’s Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, Denver’s Danilo Gallinari, Houston’s James Harden, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge and Washington’s Emeka Okafor.
