Lakers News: All-Star Barely Misses Out On Final POTW Honor This Year
Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA forward LeBron James came up just shy of winning the final NBA Player of the Week award of the 2023-2024 regular season this Monday. During this span, James averaged 32.6 points per game as the Lakers went 2-1. In his final performance, he recorded a triple-double, tallying 28 points, 17 assists, and 11 rebounds. James last won the award on March 4.
Instead, the Western Conference Player of the Week award has gone to Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, who averaged 26.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game while shooting 68.8% from the field in the final games of the regular season. Jokic is looking like the favorite to win his third MVP award in four seasons this year.
Outside of James, Phoenix Suns shooting guard Bradley Beal, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, New Orleans Pelicans point guard CJ McCollum, and Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray were also nominated.
In the Eastern Conference, New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson won the award while Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, Chicago Bulls small forward DeMar DeRozan, Miami Heat shooting Tyler Herro, and Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner were also nominated, via NBA Communcations.
Though James fell short of achieving the award this time, it's far from the most significant award for the 20-time NBA All-Star and four-time MVP, who has achieved many awards over his 21-year NBA career. He's also won the award a league-record 67 times already.
Right now, the focus for James is to help the Lakers try to advance in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Lakers managed to move up to the No. 8 seed in the tournament, and will face the Pelicans for a shot at advancing to the playoffs tonight. After just defeating the Pelicans 124-108 over the weekend, the Lakers should be confident heading into this game, which takes place on Tuesday.
