LeBron James is re-establishing himself as perhaps the game’s top player, and Klay Thompson is further staking his claim to legitimate stardom. Oh, and they’re leading their teams to lengthy winning streaks. Who else did you expect to be named Conference Players of the Week for games played between January 19 and 25?
Regaining the all-encompassing dominance that’s hallmarked his legendary career, James guided the Cleveland Cavaliers to a perfect 4-0 week that included wins over the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder. The four-time MVP averaged 27.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.3 steals per game on 50.6 percent shooting in the process, attacking the rim with abandon for several vintage finishes like this one:
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Thompson’s lone game last week could have been his record-setting performance against the Sacramento Kings and he still would’ve been a worthy Player of the Week winner – that’s how incredible his 37-point third quarter was. But he averaged 26.7 points per game on 52.3 percent shooting in the Golden State Warriors’ three other wins, too, making him an absolute no-brainer for the honor. It’s hardly a stretch to say that Thompson’s week was among the greatest shooting stretches in league history – the guy was basically a video game:
What’s extremely encouraging for the Cavs and Warriors is that James and Thompson are good enough that their week-long performance should be somewhat sustainable going forward. LeBron won’t score 25 points and dish nine assists in 27 minutes every night, of course, and Klay won’t make scoring 52 points routine, either. But those utterly dominant games aside, both stars simply played the way we know they’re capable of playing in their teams’ three other contests.
It’s no wonder, then, that Cleveland and Golden State are working on winning streaks of six and five games, respectively. With James, Thompson, and a host other stars in tow, it certainly wouldn’t shock us if each squad extended them far longer, too.
(Video via Grizzly Vision)
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