Anthony Davis named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for second time this season

Move aside, Carmelo Anthony: There’s a new NBA Western Conference Player of the Week, and his name is Anthony Davis. On Monday, the league announced that the Los Angeles Lakers big man had been named Western Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season. It is the seventh time Davis has won the award in his career.

Davis’ honor comes fresh off of his 50-point performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, which probably tipped the scales in his favor. In the game before that, he poured on 39 points on the Portland Trail Blazers. For the week, Davis averaged 35 points on 63.3% shooting from the field, 8 rebounds, 2.5 assists. 2 blocks and 1.8 steals.

LeBron James may have been the first superstar to arrive to Los Angeles last summer, but Davis is the one getting the superstar treatment and the accolades that come with it thanks to the Lakers’ NBA-best 21-3 record. He’s also been pretty good, too.

After their latest win — a 142-125 blowout over the Timberwolves — Davis talked about what it’s been like to be part of an exciting and historic time in Lakers history.

“It means a lot,” Davis said. “(There are) some greats who came through here, and to be in a class with guys like that, especially so early in my career, and first year here, it’s humbling and I’m definitely excited to be in that class.”

Davis will have plenty of opportunities cement his name in the Lakers history books this season, with the Defensive Player of the Year being the primary objective outside of winning an NBA championship, of course. If Davis is named Defensive Player of the Year at the end of the season, he’d be the first Laker since Michael Cooper during the 1986-87 season.

Davis and the Lakers are off to a great this season, and the awards Davis has accumulated are evidence of that, but they have their sights set on one goal: Lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June. If Davis continues to play at the level he’s currently playing at, they’ll have a great shot at doing so.

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