Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Sixers center Joel Embiid have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for December, the league announced today (via Twitter).
Both Doncic and Embiid are perennial All-NBA players when healthy, but December was an extraordinary month even by their lofty standards.
The Mavericks, who the month of December as a .500 team (10-10), went 11-4 in the games Doncic played (11-6 overall). The three-time All-Star averaged 35.1 points, 9.3 assists, and 8.5 rebounds in 36.3 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .519/.424/.752. Doncic had three 50-point games during the month, including a 60-point, 21-rebound, 10-assist performance against the Knicks last Tuesday.
Embiid’s Sixers also moved up the standings in December, winning nine of their 13 games. Embiid was a major factor in that run, averaging 35.4 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.8 BPG on .545/.417/.858 shooting in 36.1 MPG. He scored at least 44 points on three separate occasions, including pouring in 53 on Dec. 11 in a win over Charlotte.
Jayson Tatum, who won the East’s Player of the Month award for October/November, was among the conference’s long list of nominees for December. Jaylen Brown, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Donovan Mitchell, Pascal Siakam, and Franz Wagner also received consideration, according to the NBA (Twitter link).
In the West, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Lauri Markkanen, Ja Morant, Domantas Sabonis, and Zion Williamson were nominated for the award (Twitter link).