NBA Players of the Week: 76ers Ben Simmons and Jazz's Donovan Mitchell

Benyam Kidane

NBA Players of the Week: 76ers Ben Simmons and Jazz's Donovan Mitchell image

Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell have been named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, the league announced on Monday.

2018-19 Players of the Week
  Western Eastern
Week 1 Nikola Jokic Kemba Walker
Week 2 Stephen Curry Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 3 Russell Westbrook Victor Oladipo
Week 4 CJ McCollum Pascal Siakam
Week 5 Anthony Davis Nikola Vucevic
Week 6 Tobias Harris Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 7 Paul Millsap Kawhi Leonard
Week 8 Stephen Curry Bradley Beal
Week 9 James Harden Thaddeus Young
Week 10 Paul George Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 11 James Harden Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 12 Nikola Jokic Joel Embiid
Week 13 Donovan Mitchell Kawhi Leonard
Week 14 James Harden D'Angelo Russell
Week 15 Paul George Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 16 Nikola Jokic Giannis Antetokounmpo
Week 17 Paul George Bojan Bogdanović
Week 18 Donovan Mitchell Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons

Simmons earns Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time in his career after leading the 76ers to a 2-1 record from Feb. 24 to Mar. 2. 

In the absence of Joel Embiid, Simmons has stepped up on both sides of the floor, averaging 16.7 points, 13.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block per game this week, while shooting 55% from the field.

The 22-year-old opened the week with a 14-point-12-rebound effort in a narrow win over the New Orleans Pelicans, shooting 7-of-16 from the field. He followed that up on Wednesday with a triple-double against the Oklahoma City Thunder, helping the 76ers end their 19-game losing streak against the Thunder.

He recorded 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, adding two steals and two blocks, shooting 5-of-9 from the field.

The 76ers lone loss this week came in a 120-117 thriller against the Golden State Warriors, where Simmons posted his second triple-double of the week and the 22nd of his young career.


Simmons stuffed the stat sheet, pouring in 25 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and three steals, shooting 10-of-15 from the field.

The Aussie won the award in the final week of the 2017-18 regular season, when the 76ers were also without Embiid.

Donovan Mitchell

This is Mitchell's second Player of the Week award after taking home the honours in January.

In three games last week, where the Jazz went 3-0, Mitchell averaged 34.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists on 46.6% shooting from the field and 44.4% from the three-point line.

It was quite a week for the second-year Jazz man, who enjoyed the best scoring game of his career, pouring in a career-high 46 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, in a 115-111 win over the team with the NBA's best record, the Milwaukee Bucks.

He added three rebounds and six assists on the night, which he described as the best regular season game of his young career.


Prior to taking down the East's best team, he starred against the Denver Nuggets, pouring in 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the 111-104 win on the second night of a back-to-back. The night before he was similarly impressive against the Los Angeles Clippers, recording 32 points, four rebounds and four assists in a 111-105 win. 

After their perfect week, the Jazz sit sixth in the Western Conference at 36-29, with the team finding form at the right time of the season, despite multiple injuries in the backcourt. 

With this week's award, Mitchell becomes the first Jazz player to win multiple Player of the Week awards in a single season since Carlos Boozer back in 2009-10. 

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.