Luka Doncic, Jalen Johnson Named Players Of The Month
Lakers guard Luka Doncic and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for March in the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (Twitter link).
It was a monster scoring month for Doncic, who became one of just 10 players in league history to pour in 600 points in any calendar month. He did so across 16 contests, for an average of 37.5 points per night. That run included a 60-point game, a 51-point game, and five additional outings of at least 40 points.
The star guard also contributed 8.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game while posting a shooting line of .492/.392/.794. The Lakers went 15-2 in March (14-2 when Doncic played), and the 27-year-old was even recognized for his defensive contributions — he was a Defensive Player of the Month nominee after averaging 2.3 steals per night.
The Hawks have been another one of the NBA’s hottest teams as of late, with Johnson playing a crucial role in their recent success. Atlanta went 13-2 in March (11-2 when Johnson played) and he averaged 22.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 8.5 APG while shooting 48.9% from the floor, 39.2% from beyond the arc, and 80.7% from the free throw line.
Johnson’s best games of the month came against conference rivals, including a 35-point, 10-rebound performance vs. Philadelphia on March 7 and a 24-point, 15-rebound, 13-assist triple-double against Orlando on March 16.
It’s the second time this season and the seventh time in his career that Doncic has been named a Player of the Month. He beat out fellow nominees Kevin Durant of the Rockets, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder, Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers, Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs, and Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray of the Nuggets, according to the NBA (Twitter link).
Johnson, meanwhile, is a first-time Player of the Month winner. The other nominees in the Eastern Conference were his Hawks teammate Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Cavaliers guard James Harden, Magic teammates Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane, and the Knicks duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Northwest Notes: SGA, Hartenstein, Pullin, Gordon, Johnson
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a chance to win Most Valuable Player honors for the second straight season. He’s battling the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama and the Lakers’ Luka Doncic — the league’s top scorer — for that distinction.
However, SGA declined to argue his case following an overtime win over Detroit on Monday, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. The Thunder star is the league’s second-leading scorer at 31.6 points per game while averaging a career-high 6.5 assists as well.
“No, I’m good. Thanks for asking, though,” he said. “Yeah, I’m good. I let my game do the talking.”
[RELATED: Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama Argues MVP Case]
Gilgeous-Alexander does believe the MVP talk is a benefit to the NBA.
“I think it’s good for the league. I think it’s good chatter,” he said. “It gives people something to talk about. There’s a lot of good players in this league and a lot of guys in the conversation because of that.”
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Isaiah Hartenstein‘s decision to bolt the Knicks in free agency during the summer of 2024 has proven to be a wise one, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes. Hartenstein collected a three-year, $87MM payday and he’s become the Thunder‘s defensive anchor while also getting more offensive opportunities. “I think [the play-making] has always been there,” Hartenstein said. “I think before I got to the Knicks, it was one of the main things I was doing with the Clippers. But I think as an NBA player you just have to put your ego aside and kind of do what’s best for the team. I think when I was with the Knicks, I kind of had to change the role I was playing. And so, again, I’m just here to help the team whatever way I can, and I think with the Knicks it was more doing stuff differently.” He’s averaging 9.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 24.8 minutes per game this season.
- Timberwolves two-way player Zyon Pullin has been named the NBA G League Player of the Week, the league announced (via Twitter). The award covers games played from March 23-28. In two games, Pullin averaged 37.5 points and 5.5 assists while making 75 percent of his three-point attempts. The undrafted 25-year-old has appeared in just two games for Minnesota this season.
- The Nuggets got some good news on the injury front, Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette reports. After missing Sunday’s win over the Warriors due to a calf issue, starting power forward Aaron Gordon returned to practice Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s game in Utah. “’AG’ looked good today. His comfort level seemed like it was in a good place with the calf. I’m hoping he’ll play (Wednesday),” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. Cameron Johnson, who left Sunday’s game with back spasms, also practiced. “They just kind of popped up on me, maybe after a little bit of contact or something,” Johnson said. “I’m fine now, though. It goes away.”
And-Ones: Lottery Reform, Awards, 65-Game Rule, Extensions
The three lottery reform ideas that the NBA presented at last week’s Board of Governors meetings should be viewed as “concepts” rather than fully formed proposals, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
The expectation, Stein and Fischer say, is that each concept will undergo some changes between now and the May meetings in which team governors will vote on anti-tanking measures — the end product may even end up being a combination of two or more of those ideas.
Interestingly, the idea of flattening the lottery odds, which is an aspect of two of those three concepts, has received plenty of support from general managers and ownership groups even before last week’s Board of Governors meeting, per Stein and Fischer, so it sounds as if flattened odds will be incorporated into the eventual solution.
For what it’s worth, in evaluating the three concepts reported last week, Zach Harper of The Athletic expressed strong support for the idea that would expand the lottery to 18 teams and then give each of the bottom 10 clubs an 8% chance at the No. 1 overall pick.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- With award season around the corner, The Athletic is taking a closer look at several of the races for end-of-season hardware. Christian Clark and Mike Vorkunov debate Cooper Flagg vs. Kon Knueppel for Rookie of the Year; Joel Lorenzi, Jared Weiss, and Dan Woike consider how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic stack up in the MVP race (all three had SGA first); and Fred Katz outlines the decisions that are causing him the most stress, including his Sixth Man of the Year pick, the No. 5 spot on his MVP ballot, and his All-NBA third team.
- ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps solicited feedback from league insiders about several hot-button NBA topics, including the 65-game rule and expansion. Notably, Adam Silver‘s belief that the 65-game rule has been effective at curbing load management is shared by a number of executives across the NBA, Bontemps writes.“I think the 65-game rule has obviously had unintended consequences and needs to be looked at,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “But can we stop acting like it wasn’t collectively bargained for? It works to dissuade otherwise healthy rest.”
- Keith Smith of Spotrac explores which players still eligible for veteran contract extensions are the best candidates to sign new deals before June 30, while Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report looks ahead to this year’s rookie scale extension candidates and makes predictions about how those negotiations will play out.
NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards
The NBA announced the 2025/26 finalists for a pair of awards on Tuesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running to be named Teammate of the Year.
The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominates one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.
The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):
Bam Adebayo (Heat)- Harrison Barnes (Spurs)
- Al Horford (Warriors)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- T.J. McConnell (Pacers)
- Derrick White (Celtics)
Gilgeous-Alexander is the only one of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award who was also nominated last season. Whoever earns the honor for 2025/26 will be a first-time winner. Jrue Holiday took home the Joe Dumars Trophy a year ago.
Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2025/26. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”
The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.
Holiday is a three-time Teammate of the Year, having earned the honor in 2020, 2022, and 2023. He’s the only past recipient who is among this season’s group of finalists.
Those Teammate of the Year finalists are as follows (via Twitter):
- Desmond Bane (Magic)
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Pat Connaughton (Hornets)
- De’Aaron Fox (Spurs)
- Jeff Green (Rockets)
- Jrue Holiday (Trail Blazers)
- DeAndre Jordan (Pelicans)
- Duncan Robinson (Pistons)
- Marcus Smart (Lakers)
- Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
- Garrett Temple (Raptors)
- Jaylin Williams (Thunder)
Jayson Tatum, Nikola Jokic Collect Player Of Week Honors
Jayson Tatum added another accomplishment to his impressive comeback from an Achilles tear. The Celtics forward has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, according to the league (Twitter links).
Boston’s star forward averaged 25.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists in three victories during the week of March 23-29. Sunday’s performance in Charlotte was his best game yet this season — he racked up 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting, contributing eight assists and five rebounds without committing a turnover.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic collected the Western Conference Player of the Week award. He had three triple-doubles in four Denver wins last week, registering impressive overall averages of 26.0 points, 17.0 rebounds, and 14.0 assists per contest, with a .563/.438/.773 shooting line.
It’s the third time this season that Jokic has been named the West’s Player of the Week. He also claimed the honor in back-to-back weeks in November.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves (Lakers), Darius Garland and Kawhi Leonard (Clippers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Jamal Murray (Nuggets), Alperen Sengun (Rockets) and Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) were the other Western Conference nominees.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks), Scottie Barnes (Raptors), Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Jalen Duren (Pistons), James Harden (Cavaliers) and Payton Pritchard (Celtics) rounded out the nominees from the East.
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama Argues MVP Case
A locker room conversation on Monday night that began with Spurs wing Keldon Johnson making Victor Wembanyama‘s Most Valuable Player case to Jared Weiss of The Athletic turned into Wembanyama himself tagging in for his teammate and explaining to Weiss why he feels he deserves to be this year’s NBA MVP.
As Weiss writes, Wembanyama highlighted the impact he has on the defensive end of the court, contending that his case hinges on the fact that he’s such an outlier in terms of defensive value, especially compared to his primary competitors for MVP. The Spurs big man suggested that’s one of three primary arguments in his favor relative to current betting favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder.
“My first (argument) would be that defense is 50 percent of the game and that is undervalued, so far, in the MVP race,” Wembanyama said. “I believe I’m the most impactful player defensively in the league. Second argument would be that we almost swept OKC in the season and we dominated them three times with their real team and four times with the, you know, more rotation players. My third argument would be that offense impact is not just points.”
Wembanyama expanded on that last point by focusing on the defensive attention he commands in the pick-and-roll, adding that he has seen data showing that he ranks right alongside Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the most effective roll man in the NBA. However, he acknowledged that voters need to weigh defensive impact more heavily in order for him to have a legitimate chance at MVP honors.
“It’s going to happen (over) time,” Wembanyama told Weiss. “If there were more players like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) in the past years, maybe defense would have been more recognized. I don’t know.”
Wembanyama is averaging 24.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 blocks in just 29.3 minutes per game over the course of 56 appearances this season, with a .504/.356/.818 shooting line. Those offensive numbers pale in comparison to Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31.6 PPG, 6.6 APG, and .553/.390/.888 shooting.
Still, Wembanyama’s on/off numbers reflect his value, particularly on defense. The Spurs have registered a +16.6 net rating and 103.5 defensive rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -0.1 net rating and 113.7 defensive rating when he’s not. According to Weiss, he has spoken to some voters who’ve said that they’d vote for Wembanyama if the Spurs (54-18) pass the Thunder (57-15) for the NBA’s best record.
Following his conversation with Weiss, Wembanyama told reporters in his post-game media session that he’s determined to solidify his MVP case by finishing the season strong.
“I think right now, there is a debate,” he said. “There should be, even though I think I should lead the race. And I’ll try to make sure that by the end of the season, there’s no debate.”
Luka Doncic, LaMelo Ball Named Players Of The Week
Lakers guard Luka Doncic has been named the Player of the Week for the Western Conference, while Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has won the award in the East, the NBA announced today in a press release.
It’s the second straight week Doncic has claimed the award. The 27-year-old had a spectacular showing from March 16-22, helping guide Los Angeles to a 4-0 road record by averaging 42.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 3.0 steals on .500/.390/.723 shooting in 38.5 minutes per contest.
The highlight of Doncic’s week came on Thursday in Miami, when he poured in a season-high 60 points. The Slovenian superstar has now won Player of the Week four times in 2025/26, moving past Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has three.
Ball helped lead Charlotte to a 3-0 record last week, averaging 26.3 PPG, 7.3 APG, 5.0 RPG and 2.3 SPG on .500/.412/.846 shooting in just 27.3 MPG. This is the first time the former All-Star point guard has claimed the weekly award in 2025/26 (and in his career).
According to the league (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan, Ayo Dosunmu, Rudy Gobert, Gilgeous-Alexander, Amen Thompson and Victor Wembanyama. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaylen Brown, Jalen Duren, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Karl-Anthony Towns were nominated in the East.
Southwest Notes: Wemby, Missi, Marshall, Christie
While he acknowledges that he would vote for Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander if the season ended today, Sam Amick of The Athletic says Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama continues to strengthen his case in the race for Most Valuable Player and could steal some top-two votes that have long appeared earmarked for Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
As Amick points out, the on/off numbers are a point in Wembanyama’s favor, as the Spurs have a +16.0 net rating when he’s on the court and a 0.0 mark when he’s not, for a 16-point difference. That exceeds the 10-point gap between the Thunder’s net rating when Gilgeous-Alexander is and isn’t on the court. And while SGA is one of the NBA’s top scorers, Wembanyama, the overwhelming favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year, is the more impactful player on the other end of the court.
It’s also not out of the realm of possibility that the Spurs could catch Oklahoma City in the Western Conference standings, Amick notes. San Antonio is just 3.5 games out of the No. 1 spot, and Wembanyama has talked about wanting to get to the 60-win mark, whereas the defending champion Thunder may feel less compelled to push hard for seeding at the end of the regular season.
We have more from around the Southwest:
- Pelicans center Yves Missi was considered a prime trade candidate leading up to this season’s deadline, but he remained in New Orleans and has impressed head coach James Borrego, who spoke glowingly of the second-year big man after he racked up 10 rebounds, five blocks, and five assists in a win over Dallas on Monday. “We’re using him a number of ways defensively,” Borrego said, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com (subscription required). “Then he gets out and runs. He’s all over the offensive glass. He’s made tremendous strides.”
- Another pre-deadline trade candidate, forward Naji Marshall, is showing why the Mavericks weren’t eager to consider moving him last month, writes Nate Sanchez of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). Marshall, who spoke earlier this season about his desire to play alongside Cooper Flagg long-term, had his best game of the season on Monday in New Orleans, with 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and no turnovers. “I appreciate everything about Naji,” Flagg said after the game. “He’s just such a good basketball player, all-around, consistent. He shows up every single night and is just a true professional.”
- Flagg, Marshall, and fourth-year wing Max Christie have been a few of the bright spots in an otherwise forgettable season for the Mavericks. Even with Dallas falling well out of the play-in picture, Christie told Spencer Davies of R.org that he wants to “finish strong” and resist letting fatigue get the best of him in what has been a career year so far. The 23-year-old will become extension-eligible this July as he enters the third season of a four-year, $32MM contract.
Luka Doncic, Bam Adebayo Earn Player Of Week Honors
Lakers guard Luka Doncic and Heat big man Bam Adebayo have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, according to the league office (Twitter links). The awards cover games played from March 9-15.
Doncic led the Lakers to a 3-0 week by averaging 37.3 points, 11.0 assists and 10.3 rebounds per game. He came one assist away from registering three consecutive triple-doubles, had 51 points on Thursday vs. Chicago, and made a last-second basket to defeat Denver in overtime on Saturday.
The selection of Adebayo was a foregone conclusion after his historic 83-point game against the Wizards, which represented the second-highest single-game scoring output in NBA history. Overall, Adebayo averaged 41.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per contest last week as the Heat won two of three games.
Doncic became the second player to win a third Player of the Week award in 2025/26, joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. For Adebayo, it’s his second Player of the Week selection this season and the fourth of his career.
Devin Booker (Suns), DeMar DeRozan (Kings), Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Kawhi Leonard (Clippers), Austin Reaves (Lakers) and Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) were the other nominees from the Western Conference. Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane (Magic), Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren (Pistons), Brandon Ingram (Raptors) and Jalen Johnson (Hawks) were the other nominees from the East.
Northwest Notes: George, SGA, C. Johnson, Blazers
With Jazz guard Keyonte George not expected to have his hamstring strain reevaluated for another week-and-a-half, his chances of winning this year’s Most Improved Player award appear to be on life support. Most Improved Player is one of the awards that requires candidates to appear in at least 65 games — George is at 54, and one of those games won’t count toward his minimum, since he played fewer than 15 minutes.
In other words, in order to qualify for award consideration, George would have to return to action next Saturday and play in Utah’s final 12 games, which appears highly unlikely. As Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune writes, even before George’s most recent injury, head coach Will Hardy had made it clear that the 22-year-old’s long-term health would be the team’s priority over reaching that 65-game threshold.
“I would like to get Keyonte 65. I’m not ever trying to take away someone’s ability to have individual success,” head coach Will Hardy said in early March. “But I think Keyonte also understands that we’re going to approach it a game at a time, and we’re going to try to make sure that he’s healthy. That’s always going to be our approach. We’re going to choose the health of our organization, the health of our players, over chasing awards.”
While he likely won’t be on the ballot for Most Improved Player this spring, George has taken a promising step forward in 2025/26, registering new career highs in points (23.6), assists (6.1), and steals (1.1) per game, as well as field goal percentage (45.6%), three-point percentage (37.1%), and free throw percentage (89.2%). He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension beginning in July.
We have more from around the Northwest:
- In the wake of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander breaking Wilt Chamberlain‘s NBA record for most consecutive games with at least 20 points, Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman takes a look at how the Thunder guard became the league’s most consistent scorer. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 20 or more points in 127 consecutive regular season games — the last time he failed to reach that mark was on October 30, 2024, when he had 18 vs. San Antonio.
- Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson has had an up-and-down first year in Denver and admits that there’s “still an element of figuring it out,” even with just a month left in the regular season, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). According to Johnson, who has scored at least 15 points in three straight games for just the second time this season, the coaching staff has encouraged him to be more decisive. “I think sometimes, he’s trying to make perfect plays, instead of just making the play that is right there in front of you (that) is the right decision,” head coach David Adelman said. Johnson will be extension-eligible this summer as he enters the final year of his current contract, which will pay him $23.1MM in 2026/27.
- Visiting Portland this week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he has been encouraged by the steps that have been taken so far to secure public funding for renovations to the Trail Blazers‘ Moda Center, according to The Associated Press. “I’ve had great conversations with the governor and the mayor, and it’s been a bipartisan effort,” Silver said. “I think everyone in this community recognizes that, even in addition to the Trail Blazers and the (WNBA expansion) Fire — and we can’t forget about the Fire, which are about to open this season — that these arenas are multi-use facilities, whether it’s conventions or trade shows, concerts, graduations, you name it. They’re part of the life blood of communities. So it’s not just for the Trail Blazers and the Fire. You need a state-of-the-art arena here.”