Grizzlies' Ja Morant, Raptors' Fred VanVleet named Players of the Week

A pair of point guards were named the NBA’s Players of the Week, with Ja Morant of the Grizzlies winning the Western Conference award and Fred VanVleet of the Raptors earning the honor in the East (Twitter link).

It’s the second week in a row that Morant has won the award. He only appeared in four of the Grizzlies’ five games from Jan. 3-9 but played a key role in spearheading a 5-0 week, averaging 25.0 PPG, 6.8 APG and 6.3 RPG in 30.8 minutes per contest. He also made a series of highlight plays, including a two-handed block an Avery Bradley shot (video link) that became an immediate contender for play of the year.

Like Morant, VanVleet continued to build his case for an All-Star spot by leading his team to an undefeated week. The 27-year-old put up 30.3 PPG, 6.5 APG and 4.8 RPG with a .453 3PT% (6.0 made threes per game) in four games (36.5 MPG), all Toronto wins.

The other nominees for Player of the Week were Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James and Anfernee Simons in the West, along with Joel Embiid, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis in the East (Twitter link).