Brunson, Gilgeous-Alexander Capture December NBA Player of the Month Awards
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The NBA on January 2 named New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson the Eastern Conference Player of the Month and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the Western Conference Player of the Month for December.
Brunson, who earned two Player of the Week nods during the month, averaged 30.6 points, 7.1 assists and 3.2 rebounds over 13 games. He shot 47.5 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from three-point range and 82.6 percent at the foul line while guiding New York to a 10-3 record in those contests. The 27-year-old also led the Knicks to the NBA Cup title, contributing 25 points and eight assists in the final against San Antonio, although that game did not count toward regular-season statistics.
Gilgeous-Alexander continued his MVP bid by putting up 31.4 points, 6.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 12 December games. He posted a .594/.436/.882 shooting line as Oklahoma City went 9-4, helping the Thunder reach an NBA-best 29-5 record. The 27-year-old now stands second in the league in scoring at 32.1 points per game.
The latest honor marks the third Player of the Month award for Brunson and the fifth for Gilgeous-Alexander. Previous monthly winners this season were Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, who shared the October/November awards.
Other nominees
East: Cunningham, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Toronto’s Brandon Ingram, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Brooklyn’s Michael Porter Jr. and Knicks teammate Karl-Anthony Towns.
West: Jokić, the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s Kevin Durant, San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox, Utah’s Keyonte George, Dallas’ Cooper Flagg, Portland’s Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, and the Lakers’ Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
Source: HoopsRumors
