By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic is the NBA Player Of the Month in the Western Conference for January 2022. The Serbian big man posted 26.6 points, 13.2 rebounds, 9.0 assists in the last month for an extremely powerful individual stretch that also pushed the Nuggets to win 11 out of their 16 games. These victories included a rout over reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks.
Joel Embiid was named Player of the Week in the Eastern Conference during a month when star 7-footers dominated. The Philadelphia 76ers center and one of Jokic’s rivals in the MVP race had 34.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 blocks while his team went 11-3.
Per Nuggets:
The NBA has announced that Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić has been named the Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in January.
Jokić wins the award for the first time this season and the third time in his career, tying Carmelo Anthony and Alex English for most Player of the Month honors in franchise history.
The NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player averaged 26.6 points, 13.2 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 1.43 steals while shooting .601 from the field, .431 from three-point range and .880 from the charity stripe in 16 games in January. He helped lead the Nuggets to an 11-5 record in the month, including a season-long five-game winning streak, to put Denver in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 28-22 record.
Jokić, 26, recorded seven triple-doubles in January and is now one of just five players in NBA history to have seven-or-more in a single month (Westbrook, Robertson, Chamberlain, Jordan). He registered two 20-point/20-rebound games, had a double-double in 15 games and scored 25+ points in seven straight, the longest streak by a Nugget since Anthony in 2010. For the month, Jokić ranked first in the NBA in total rebounds, second in assists, third in total points and third in field goals made.
January was highlighted by the Sombor, Serbia native becoming the first player in NBA history to reach 5,000 career rebounds and 3,000 career assists in less than 500 career games. He was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from 1/17-1/23 after averaging 36.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 2.30 steals, shooting .650 from the field and .400 from three-point range while leading the Nuggets to a 2-1 week. He recorded a season-high 49 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in an overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on 1/19 to join Larry Bird and Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to reach those numbers in a game.
The Joker leads the NBA in PER, triple-doubles and double-doubles on the year. He’s second in rebounds per game, 10th in points per game and eighth in assists per game while averaging 26.0 points, 13.7 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.42 steals in 33.2 minutes per game. He also ranks first in the NBA in field goal makes while ranking 15th in field goal attempts.