Sacramento Kings (20-19) forward Domantas Sabonis and Cleveland Cavaliers (33-5) guard Darius Garland have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week on the heels of historic stretches from the perennial all stars.
Sabonis, the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week, led Sacramento to a 3-0 record behind play that’s only been replicated once in league history, while Garland, the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week, was rewarded for his unprecedented field-goal percentage. The honors, announced Monday afternoon, recognize the players’ accomplishments between Jan. 6 and Jan. 12.
Now in his third season with the Kings, Sabonis has emerged as the backbone of a Sacramento team that many predicted would continue to struggle following the controversial firing of head coach Mike Brown last month. Instead, the Kings, thanks largely to the play of Sabonis, are riding a seven-game win streak that’s catapulted them into the playoff conversation.
Sabonis averaged 22 points 20.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game in three games last week, joining DeMarcus Cousins as only the second player to average at least 20 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 block per contest since the NBA-ABA merger. His most dominant performance of the week came against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in which Sabonis pulled down a career-high 28 rebounds to complement his 23 points in the win. It was his sixth time earning Player of the Week honors, and fourth with the Kings.
For Garland, the honor recognized a week that saw the five-time all star shoot an unmatched 50% from the field, 40% from three and 90% from the free throw line. Over the course of three games, Garland averaged 26 points and 7.7 assists, leading his Cavaliers to a pair of victories before their 12-game win streak was snapped by the Indiana Pacers. The team’s most notable win during that stretch came against an Oklahoma City Thunder team riding a 15-game win streak.
Garland, who was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week earlier in the season as well, is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 20 points while shooting 49% or better from the field, 40% or better from three and 90% or better from the foul line. The honor is the third of Garland’s six-year NBA career, making him the third player in Cavaliers history — LeBron James (42), Kyrie Irving (four) and Donovan Mitchell (three) — to have been named Player of the Week at least three times.
Sabonis and his Kings will be back in action Tuesday night when they travel to face a Milwaukee Bucks (20-17) team that was beat by 34 points in its last outing against the New York Knicks (26-24) on Sunday. Garland and the Cavaliers will also be back in action Tuesday when they take on the Indiana Pacers (22-18) team in a rematch of Sunday’s streak-ending lost. The Pacers, meanwhile, are riding a six-game win streak of their own.
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