Jalen Johnson Named Eastern Conference Player Of The Week

In four games played this past week, Johnson averaged 24.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 2.5 steals in 34.8 minutes of play (.603 FG%, .571 3FG%, .783 FT%). He led Atlanta to a perfect 4-0 record, sweeping its Western Conference road trip, the first time the club has swept a Western Conference trip (of at least four games) since 1970-71.

The 6-9 forward finished his week posting 25 points on 9-13 shooting from the field, including a 2-3 clip from deep and 5-6 from the free throw line, 10 rebounds, seven assists and one steal in 39 minutes in a 124-122 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, Nov. 16. Johnson, who registered his third straight game with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, helped lead Atlanta to its largest comeback with less than 10 minutes to play in franchise history. Down by 22 points (103-81) with 9:50 left to play in regulation, the Hawks, who went on a 19-0 run from 8:21 in the fourth quarter to 4:34, outscored the Suns 43-19 the rest of the contest, securing their fourth win this past week and fifth straight victory.

On the second night of a back-to-back (Nov. 13), Johnson put up a historic stat line of 31 points (career high), 18 rebounds (career high), 14 assists (career high) and seven steals (career high) in a 132-122 win over the Utah Jazz (10-19 FGM, 4-5 3FGM, 7-11 FTM). Johnson became the first player in the NBA since 1973-74 (when steals became official) to record at least 31 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists and seven steals in a single game and just the seventh player to notch a 30-point, seven-steal triple-double.

In a 133-100 win over Sacramento on Nov. 12, the fifth-year forward tallied 24 points on 9-10 shooting from the field, in addition to 10 rebounds, eight assists and one steal in 24 minutes of action. He became the first player in the NBA this season to finish a game with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in fewer than 25 minutes of play and just the second player in NBA history to do so while shooting .900%-or-better from the field, per Elias Sports (Dewayne Dedmon, Nov. 15, 2017).

Johnson and the Hawks began their week with a 105-102 win over the LA Clippers. He recorded a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double in the victory, in addition to eight assists, one steal and one block in 35 minutes.

As a team this past week, the Hawks averaged 123.5 points, 40.0 rebounds, 35.8 assists and 12.5 steals over their four victories, winning by +12.0 points. Atlanta owned the fourth-best defensive rating in the league this past week (108.8, the best in the East), the seventh-best net rating (10.8) and ninth-best offensive rating (119.6). Including Atlanta’s 122-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, Nov. 8, the Hawks have handed out 30-or-more assists in five straight games, tied for the longest such streak in franchise history.

In 12 games played this season, Johnson is averaging a career-high 21.8 points, shooting career bests from the floor (.587 FG%), three-point land (.382 3FG%) and the free throw line (.807 FT%) and dishing out a career-high 6.3 assists, in addition to 9.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 32.9 minutes. He is one of only five players in the NBA this season to average at least 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Alperen Sengun and Josh Giddey.

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