The NBA announced that Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis has been named NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in March and April.
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers took home the same honor in the Eastern Conference, while the other Western Conference finalists were Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies) and Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings).
Davis earned the award by leading the Lakers to a 14-6 record in March in April, the best mark in the West during that span. He averaged 26.2 points on 56.9% shooting to go a league-leading 12.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 blocks in 35.5 minutes. In the 20 games, Davis scored 20 or more 11 times, 30 or more eight times and one 40-point performance. He also had 11 double-doubles and two games with 20 or more rebounds.
Overall in 56 games for the Lakers in 2022-23, Davis averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks in 34.0 minutes per game. Davis’ 20 games with 15 or more rebounds was the most in the NBA, and so were his seven games with at least 35 points and 15 rebounds.
Outside of a foot injury that forced Davis to miss six weeks, he was able to stay healthy and took on a bigger leadership role to lead the Lakers back to the Play-In Tournament despite starting the season 2-10.
In addition to this honor, Davis also took home Western Conference Player of the Week honors twice, including just a couple of weeks ago.
Davis has taken home three career Player of the Month honors with this being his first since joining the Lakers.
Davis hoping to defeat Timberwolves to get more rest
While awards are great, Davis and the Lakers’ main focus remains on getting back to the playoffs and winning a championship.
Davis understands that and also knows that they will need to be healthy to do so, which is why he emphasized the importance of beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Play-In Tournament in order to get more rest.
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