NBA Players of the Week: Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors and Paul Millsap of the Denver Nuggets

NBA.com India Staff

NBA Players of the Week: Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors and Paul Millsap of the Denver Nuggets image

Kawhi Leonard and Paul Millsap were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week.

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

Kawhi Leonard

The Eastern Conference honours Kawhi Leonard, who's Toronto Raptors went 3-0 on the week and still hold the NBA's best record at 20-4.

Leonard posted 29.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists over the three wins while shooting 53.6 percent from the field. In the Raptors' huge overtime win over the Golden State Warriors, he led the team with 37 points, eight rebounds and three assists all while shooting an efficient 58.3 percent from the field.

He played a crucial role in their second half comeback over the Memphis Grizzlies with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists and had another 30-point outing when he scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a win over the Cavaliers.

Leonard has surely returned to his Finals MVP form this season, averaging career bests in points per game with 25.5 and rebounds per game with 8.6. He currently has the Raptors on an eight-game win streak going into tonight's matchup against Millsap and the Nuggets.

This is Kawhi's fifth time earning Player of the Week honours and his first since the 2016-17 season. He is the second Raptors' player to earn Player of the Week this season, with Pascal Siakam receiving the honour week four.

He is the ninth Raptor to get the Player of the Week nod joining Siakam, DeMar DeRozan (10 times), Vince Carter (7), Chris Bosh (7), Kyle Lowry (4), Mike James, Jalen Rose and Lou Williams, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN 1050.

Paul Millsap

The Western Conference honours Paul Millsap as he led the Denver Nuggets to a 2-0 week to advance to 15-7, tied for the top spot in the conference with the LA Clippers.

Millsap averaged 21.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game in the Nuggets' wins over the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. He notched a double-double in both games, putting up 20 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 9-for-14 from the field in Denver's blowout win at home versus the Lakers to start the week.

He followed that performance with 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals in a close one-point win over the Blazers on Friday. Millsap has been a consistent catalyst for the Nuggets this season, filling the box score with 13.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game shooting a consistent 50.2 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three. 

This is Millsap's third time receiving Player of the Week honours and his first since the 2015-16 season. He is the second Nuggets' player to earn Player of the Week this season, with Nikola Jokic taking it home week one.

NBA.com India Staff