Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum were named the NBA Players of the Week for Week 16.
Denver Nuggets center Jokic took Western Conference Player of the Week honours for games played between February 3-9. It is the first time this season Jokic has won the award and the sixth time in his career.
Jokic, 24, averaged 27.3 points, 14.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.67 steals while also shooting 62.1 per cent from the field and 84.6 per cent from the free throw line in Week 16.
The Serbian big man helped the Nuggets to a 3-0 record, including back-to-back wins over Northwest division rivals Portland and Utah to improve the Nuggets' division record to 9-0. The 3-0 week also moved Denver back into the No 2 spot in the Western Conference standings.
Jokic started the week by registering 29 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks and two steals in a home win over the Trail Blazers. Denver then headed to Utah for the second game of a back-to-back where he put up a monster stat-line of 30 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists while also hitting a go-ahead step-back jumper with under a minute left to put Denver up for good.
Jokic became just the ninth player in NBA history to post a 30-point/20-rebound/10-assist triple-double and is just the second player since the 1976-77 season to tally 31 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in a game. Additionally, it was his 11th triple-double of the year (tied for 2nd in NBA) and 39th of his career (10th all-time).
He then capped the week off with 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three blocks and one steal in road win at Phoenix.
Jokic was recently named as a Western Conference All-Star reserve for the second consecutive season and is averaging 20.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists on the year. He is the only player in the NBA this season to average over 20+points, 10+ rebounds and 6+ assists per game, and if he maintains those numbers it would be his second straight year reaching those marks.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played February 3-9. It is the first time in his three-year NBA career he has received Player of the Week honours.
Tatum, 21, averaged 29.8 points (third in the Eastern Conference) on 50.0 per cent shooting to go along with 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.3 blocked shots in an undefeated four-game week which saw the Celtics beat Atlanta (twice), Orlando and Oklahoma City.
Tatum scored at least 25 points in all four contests, extending his current career streak of 20-point games to nine (January 18 to present). The third-year forward shot 21-for-39 from beyond the arc throughout the week, including a career-high seven three-pointers (of 12) against the Hawks on February 7.
Tatum also reached the 30-point mark in back-to-back games against Orlando (33 points) and Atlanta (32 points), marking the first time in his NBA career he has scored at least 30 points in consecutive games.
Tatum is the second Celtics player to earn Player of the Week honours this season, joining Jaylen Brown who has received two such awards in 2019-20.
In 48 games played this season (all starts), Tatum has produced career highs in points (22.2 ppg), rebounds (6.9 rpg), assists (2.9 apg), steals (1.3 spg) and blocked shots (0.9 bpg). He was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career on January 30, making him the second-youngest Celtics player to ever be selected to an All-Star Game.