Luka Doncic put together a monster opening week, capped by 52 points in Utah, but the first Western Conference Player of the Week award of the season still went elsewhere.
The NBA announced Monday that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome earned the honor for games played Oct. 20-25, edging out Doncic and the rest of the field after both Jerome and the Los Angeles Lakers guard helped their teams start 3-0. Doncic was one of two Lakers nominees, alongside Austin Reaves.
Jerome’s week came with Memphis unbeaten, and the scoring margin was razor-thin. He finished with 104 points across three games, one more than Doncic’s 103.
Jerome posted 45 points in his opener, then added 28 and 31. Doncic answered with 28 against the Golden State Warriors, 23 against the Los Angeles Clippers and then that 52-point blast in Sunday’s 132-123 win over the Utah Jazz.
That gave Doncic a 34.3-point average for the week. Jerome’s 34.7 points per game was the highest mark in the league, and the award was the first of his career.
The numbers tell the whole story: one player brought the bigger single-game eruption, while the other delivered the slightly better total week. Jerome never dipped below 28 points in any game. Doncic, meanwhile, supplied the louder peak with his 52-point finish.
The NBA did not offer an explanation for why Jerome got the nod over the other nominees, so the one-point scoring edge is just the comparison from the week, not the league’s reasoning. Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Amen Thompson were also listed among the Western Conference nominees.
Jerome’s early surge had already caught attention from Stephen Curry. In a clip posted by the NBA on Saturday, before the award was announced, Curry described the freedom Jerome has on offense.
“He’s got a full green light over there to kind of do whatever he wants, and kind of run their system and initiate a lot of their scoring,” said Curry.
Reaves’ name belonged in the mix too after a strong week of his own. He averaged 26.7 points and 6.3 assists, giving the Lakers another candidate on a 3-0 opening run.
Against the Clippers on Friday, Reaves scored 28 points and handed out nine assists while going 10-for-13 from the field. He followed that with 29 points, four assists and two blocks at Utah.
Doncic’s closing night in Salt Lake City was the headline act, but Reaves and the Lakers’ backcourt were right there with him. Doncic added eight rebounds and 10 assists, and the two starting guards combined for 81 points in the win. JJ Redick also praised Doncic’s defense after the comeback, strengthening the case for his weekly candidacy even if the award ended up in Memphis.
Tyrese Maxey won the Eastern Conference honor. For the Lakers, the week ended with two nominees, three wins and no award.
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