Houston Rockets guard James Harden has been named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from March 18-24, with Atlanta Hawks rookie Trae Young scooping Eastern Conference honours.
It is Harden's fourth Player of the Week award of the season and the 22nd of his career, all coming as a Rocket.
The Rockets were 3-1 for the week, with Harden averaging 44.3 points while shooting 50.0 per cent from the floor, 52.8 per cent from three-point range and 90.7 per cent from the line.
He scored a total of 177 points in 145 minutes of play for the week and is close to averaging a point per minute played this season (2,545 points in 2,604 minutes played).
Harden opened the week with 31 points at Atlanta on March 19, making him the first player to have scored at least 30 points against each of the opposing 29 teams in a single season since the NBA expanded to 30 teams in 2004-05.
The following night at Memphis, Harden posted 57 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the first player to post those numbers in a single game since steals and blocks became official statistics in 1973-74.
Harden followed up his 57-point game against the Grizzlies by scoring a career-high tying 61 points vs San Antonio on March 22. According to Elias, the 118 points tied for the highest two-game total by a player over the past 50 seasons. It marked the second time this season, and the third time in his career, that Harden has scored 50-plus points in consecutive games. Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player in NBA history with more than two streaks of scoring 50-plus points.
On Sunday night at New Orleans, Harden scored a game-high 28 points in three quarters of play to help clinch a playoff spot for the Rockets. Houston has made the playoffs in each of Harden's seven seasons as a Rocket, tying for the longest streak in franchise history.
Overall this season, Harden is averaging 36.4 points, 7.5 assists, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.2 steals. He is on pace to become the first player in NBA history to have averaged at least 35.0 points per game and 7.0 assists per page in a single season.
The NBA also announced Atlanta Hawks guard Young was named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
The first-year guard from the University of Oklahoma averaged 25.3 points and 11.3 assists in three games, leading the Hawks to a 2-1 record against opponents who entered the contests with a combined .628 winning percentage, capped by a game-winning shot in a 129-127 victory over Philadelphia.
Young compiled three straight games with at least 20 points and 10 assists, tied for the longest streak in the Eastern Conference this season. The 6ft 2in guard opened the week with his highest assist total of the stretch, handing out 12 helpers and scoring 21 points against Houston on March 19.
On March 21, Young scored a team-high 23 points and recorded a game-high 11 assists in a 117-114 victory over Utah. The No 5 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Young posted 32 points (11-20 FGs, 4-9 3FGs, 6-7 FTs), 11 assists, six boards and a block against the Sixers on March 23. Young sealed the victory with a game-winning floater with 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock.
Young's performance marked the fifth time this season he has recorded at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game, tying him with Stephen Curry and Michael Jordan for the second-most such contests by a rookie in NBA history.
Young, who took home NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honours for November, January and February, is the first rookie in either conference to win Player of the Week this season and the first Hawks player to win the award since Paul Millsap on April 11, 2016.
Through 74 starts, Young is averaging 18.7 points, 7.9 assists (fourth in the NBA) and 3.6 rebounds this season. Young's 583 total assists lead all Eastern Conference players this season (second in the NBA)