Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry were today named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in October/November.
Butler led Chicago and ranked ninth in the NBA scoring (21.9 ppg) as the Bulls posted an 11-6 mark, good for first place in the Central Division. He topped the 20-point mark 11 times, including two 30-point outings, raising his scoring average more than eight points from last season, when he averaged 13.1 points. Butler shot .498 from the field while posting seven games with double-figure free throw attempts to rank fourth in the NBA in free throw attempts per game (8.8). Butler also led the NBA in minutes (39.3 mpg).
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Curry guided the Warriors to a 14-2 record to start the season, ranking fifth in the NBA in scoring (23.8 ppg) and assists (7.8 apg), seventh in steals (1.94 spg), third in free throw percentage (.923) and second in three-point field goals made (51). He was one of two players in the NBA to shoot at least 49 percent from the field (.496), 40 percent from three-point range (.418) and 90 percent (.923) from the free throw line. Curry posted four 30-point games and one 40-point game. He also dished out at least five assists in all 16 games.
Other nominees for Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Atlanta’s Jeff Teague, Cleveland’s LeBron James, Houston’s James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Miami’s Chris Bosh, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, and Washington’s John Wall.