After games played through Sunday, October 27, there are just four undefeated teams left in the NBA. Two of those teams are the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder. The other two have combined for 35 NBA championships, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA announced their Players of the Week in each conference for the opening week of the 2024-25 season. The week consists of games played from October 22-27. The Celtics and Lakers saw their teams receive the representative from the Eastern and Western Conferences respectively after both clubs have gotten off to 3-0 starts.
NBA Announces Players Of The Week For October 22-27
Eastern Conference Player of the Week – Jayson Tatum
Yes, the season is just three games deep for Boston with 79 games remaining. There are many who believed that Jayson Tatum would make it a mission to prove his doubters wrong. Coming off a season where he won his first championship, there was still a lot of controversy surrounding the 26-year-old. His teammate Jaylen Brown was named Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals MVP over him. Then, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr left Tatum glued to the bench for a couple games during their gold medal run in the 2024 Olympics.
Through three games, Tatum has come out filling the box score, and Boston has won their three outings by a combined 49 points. In the opening week, Tatum posted averages of 33.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks. The eight-year veteran shot an impressive 54.7% from the field and 48.6% from beyond the arc on high volume (35 three-point attempts).
Tatum scored 37 points in two of Boston’s three games. He also has two double-doubles. The first came on opening night where he reached double figures in points and assists, and in his second game, he reached double-digit totals in points and rebounds.
Western Conference Player of the Month – Anthony Davis
Dubbed “Street Clothes” by Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, Anthony Davis was becoming more known for being sidelined due to injury. Yes, he was still mighty productive. The Lakers just couldn’t count on him to stay on the court for a prolonged amount of time. Last season though, Davis appeared in a career-high 76 games.
Now 31 years old, Davis is in his 13th NBA season. It has started off with a bang. Davis has averages of 34.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 2.3 blocks. He has shot 57.1% from the field and connected on two of five three-point tries. Davis has done a masterful job drawing fouls. He has already attempted 45 free throws in the Lakers three games and has made 36 of them. His scoring average is tied with Luka Doncic for the most in the association early on.
Davis has scored at least 31 points for Los Angeles in each of their first three contests. Again, it’s very early, but if Davis can reach the 65-game threshold, can he make a run for MVP? He hasn’t received an MVP vote since the 2019-20 season, his first with the Lakers, and also the year he helped them secure their 17th championship.
