The NBA has named Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) and Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans) the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 8 (December 5-11) of the 2022-23 NBA season.
One of the most nominated players in the entire league on the offensive end of the floor, Joel Embiid has continued to be a juggernaut that the Philadelphia 76ers play through and he has now earned his second NBA Player of the Week honor this season, something only he and Giannis Antetokounmpo have done so far.
The 76ers went 2-1 this past week and Embiid has been a big reason why they have been putting together some solid wins, averaging 43.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 63.9 percent from the floor. He did not score below 38 points this past week and Embiid also recorded two double-doubles.
Embiid now ranks first in the league in scoring (33.4 PPG) after this past week and he now ranks tied for 13th in rebounds per game (9.8 RPG).
The New Orleans Pelicans barely snuck into the playoffs a season ago and now in the middle of December, they currently sit at the top of the Western Conference standings thanks to former No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson.
Without Brandon Ingram available due to a toe injury, Williamson has stepped up for the Pelicans on the offensive end of the floor and he has been unstoppable lately.
He has failed to eclipse 20 points just once in his last nine games and this past week, Williamson averaged 33.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 70.4 percent from the floor.
Recently, Zion put up back-to-back 35-point performances against the Phoenix Suns, securing two key victories for the Pelicans this past week.
This marks the ninth time in Joel Embiid’s career that he has received the NBA’s Eastern Player of the Week honor, tying him with the likes of Dikembe Mutombo, Jayson Tatum, Chris Webber and Dominique Wilkens for the 17th most all-time.
For Zion Williamson, this is the first time he has been named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week and Williamson is now just the fourth player in team history to receive Player of the Week honors, joining the likes of Brandon Ingram, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
Jarrett Allen (CLE), DeMar DeRozan (CHI), Buddy Hield (IND), Julius Randle (NYK) and Franz Wagner (ORL) were also nominated for Eastern Conference Player of the Week, as were Luka Doncic (DAL), Rudy Gobert ( MIN), Nikola Jokic (DEN) and Ja Morant (MEM) were all nominated for Western Conference Player of the Week.
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