Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija and Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, according to the NBA (Twitter links).
Avdija averaged 26.8 points, 9.8 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game while leading to Portland to a 3-1 record during the week of December 29 to January 4. This is the first time Avdija has earned Player of the Week honors. He’s the first Portland player to get the nod since Damian Lillard on Feb. 6, 2023.
Maxey averaged 34.7 points and 8.7 assists per game while shooting 61.2% from the field as the Sixers went 3-0. It’s the third time Maxey has earned Player of the Week honors, including the second time this season — he joins Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Celtics wing Jaylen Brown as the Eastern Conference’s two-time winners so far in 2025/26.
Devin Booker (Suns), Stephen Curry (Warriors), Kevin Durant (Rockets), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) and Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) were the other nominees in the West.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Paolo Banchero and Anthony Black (Magic), Brown (Celtics) and Cade Cunningham (Pistons) were also nominated in the East.
Cant wait to hear Jaylen Brown cry about this too
If it means he’s going to drop another 50 piece, then I hope so too!
I think Jaylen Brown’s 50 point game while defending Clippers Kawhi Leonard and James Harden was included. Shows how voters only look at scoring and proves Jaylen’s point.
That Deni Avdija trade needs to be re-examined. Wow. What a get for Portland. They can go ahead and move on from Scoot. Sell him for some assets.
Will this 76er lineup be around come playoff-time? As a neutral fan, I would love to see it!
Deni has come a long way man . He has shown he can handle point. His handle is as tight as ever. His decision making is tight. He’s playing with confidence. He is looking good. And still looks like he has more to learn. At 6’8” he is a special SF/wing. With Sharoe at the 2. Blazers are looking good. Now if only Scoot could start leading this team. There is a lot of talent here. A PG running the offense leading the way. Is what they need most. a Trae Young ????
Blazers should build around Deni at PG as if he was Luka Dončić. The advantage of having size while not compromising on ball handling is tremendous.
Hopefully for blazers fan’s contentions dreams, he remains as the main ball handler after Jrue, dame and scoot all come back.
Dame and scoot should be playing 20 minutes each at max, while Jrue isn’t a liability on defense and should still play around 30-35 mins.
No way. Luka shouldn’t be playoff PG anyway
Avdija’s turnover rate is too high. They need a point guard. In a quick run through primary ball handlers (point guard or forwards) 3.9 per 36 minutes. Doncic’s is worse, but if there is anyone else I missed them in a quick review
Avdija’s turnovers per 36 is a bit on the high side but there’s plenty of others right up there. You mentioned Luka, Castle is at 4.3 Cunningham is averaging 4.0 , Giddey 3.9. While not a guard or forward but definitely a primary ball handler Jokìc is right behind at 3.7. it’s hard to make plays without turning the ball over.
All players who handle the ball a lot. Have a high TO stat. Its the ast to TO ratio that is a better telling of player.
Good point. Celtics Payton Pritchard, who won the Bob Cousy Best Point Guard his last year in college, just played 71 minutes over the last two games, 40 and 31, without a turnover. Of course he’s too short to be mentioned in the same breadth as Luka, etc. since he’s a proverbial shorty.
Thing that bothers me about Luka. Nobody has an issue with his D. Team D is not a difficult thing to do. It just takes effort.
Nothing to do with the fact that Pritchard is on the short side. I’d take well before Pritchard simply because Luka is a better basketball player.
Both Chuck and Al are absolutely right here. The ratio is the big deal. Quarterbacks throw turnovers. I was too narrow in my read on this. <>
For everyone saying Avdija should play PG don’t understand basketball
Just because someone can dribble a lick doesn’t mean they should be a PG
The wiz mgt… still having withdrawals on this… stupid decision to get rid of avdija. 😡😡😡😡
You guys need an editor that speaks English
Just because we are sports fans doesn’t mean we have to sound like we didn’t get out of 8th grade.