Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns has been named the Player of the Week for the Western Conference, while Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has won the award for the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced Monday.
Oddly, this is the third time this season that Towns and Tatum have earned Player of the Week honors for the same week. Both players won the award on December 20 and again on March 7.
Towns’ numbers during the week of March 14-20 were buoyed by his 60-point, 17-rebound outburst in San Antonio last Monday, but he also led the Timberwolves to blowout victories over the Lakers and Bucks. He averaged 38.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, and 3.0 APG on .569/.600/.925 shooting in just 31.4 minutes per contest in those three wins.
Tatum’s Celtics also enjoyed a dominant 3-0 week as they continued their climb up the Eastern standings, winning by 20 or more points in Golden State, Sacramento, and Denver. The All-Star forward put up 29.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 5.0 APG with a .592/.571/.933 shooting line in those three games (34.6 MPG).
The other nominees for this week’s Player of the Week awards were Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, and Donovan Mitchell in the West, along with Kevin Durant, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Pascal Siakam, and Tatum’s teammate Jaylen Brown in the East.
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