LBJ Named Player of the Month for March & April 2018
CLEVELAND – The NBA announced today that Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James has been named the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for games played in March/April 2018. This marks the 26th time a Cavs player has earned Player of the Month honors and James’ 38th, the most in NBA history. It is the fourth month this season he has won the award (most in NBA), also earning the honor for games played in October/November 2017, January 2018 and February 2018.
James appeared in all 22 contests (all starts) during March/April, averaging an NBA-best 29.6 points on .536 shooting from the field, 9.4 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 1.14 steals in 36.4 minutes per game. He recorded six triple-doubles and led the league with 17 double-doubles during that stretch, including consecutive triple-doubles from March 7-9, marking his ninth time ever recording back-to-back triple-doubles. In addition to leading the Eastern Conference in points per game (29.6), James ranked first in field goals made (241) and double-doubles (17), while tying for the conference-lead in triple-doubles (6). James also finished second in the conference in assists per game (9.5) and third in rebounds per game (9.4) in March/April.
The 6-8 forward scored at least 20 points 19 times, 30 points or more 11 times and 40 points three times during March/April. He posted at least 24 points, six rebounds and six assists in 19 of the 22 contests, while also recording at least 10 rebounds 12 times and 10 or more assists 11 times. After scoring in double figures in every game, James (873) moved past Michael Jordan (866) for the longest streak of consecutive double-digit scoring games in NBA history, a feat that was achieved after a 27-point night on March 27 versus New Orleans. He also increased his career total to 945 20-point games, passing Jordan (926, 4th) and Kobe Bryant (941, 3rd) during March/April and now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,122) and Karl Malone (1,134) in that category. James also moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (429) for fifth all-time in 30-point games with 430 for his career.
James set additional historical milestones during March/April. At Portland on March 15, the 14-time NBA All-Star posted his 400th career double-double (35 points, 14 rebounds), becoming just the sixth active player to reach that plateau. During Cleveland’s 114-109 victory at Chicago on March 17, he recorded his 70th career triple-double (33 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists), joining Oscar Robertson (181), Magic Johnson (138), Jason Kidd (107), Russell Westbrook (104) and Wilt Chamberlain (78) as the only players to register that many in their careers. James notched game highs of 40 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Milwaukee on March 19, marking the 51st time in his career he led or tied for the game high on both teams in points, rebounds and assists, passing Wilt Chamberlain (50) for the most such games in NBA history. During Cleveland’s 132-129 victory over Toronto on March 21, James (35 points, 17 assists, zero turnovers) became the first player in NBA history to record 35 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers in any game (including playoffs) since the NBA started recording turnovers in 1977-78. He later passed Jason Richardson (1,608 3FGM) for 20th all-time in three-pointers made on April 5 at Washington.
James became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 31,000 career points (33 years, 97 days), as well as the seventh player to reach that milestone on April 6 at Philadelphia, as he finished the night with 44 points on 17-29 (.586) shooting from the field, including 4-8 (.500) from three-point range, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in 40 minutes. He scored 35 points in the second half, tying the franchise record for points scored in a single half, while also passing Isiah Thomas (1,861) for 16th all-time in career steals that night.
In 2017-18, James appeared in all 82 games for the first time in his career, averaging a team-high 27.5 points (3rd in NBA) on .542 shooting from the field (14th in NBA), a career-high tying 8.6 rebounds (15th in NBA), a career-high 9.1 assists (2nd in NBA), 1.41 steals and 0.87 blocks in 36.9 minutes. He also posted a career-high 52 double-doubles (5th-most in NBA and 2nd-most in franchise history) and a career-high 18 triple-doubles (2nd in NBA). He was the only player with at least 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 9.0 assists and a .500 FG% in 2017-18. James led the NBA in total points for the first time in his career with 2,251 points this past season, his 10th career 2,000-point season and first since the 2013-14 season. He became just the third player in NBA history to have 10 different seasons with 2,000 points or more, joining Karl Malone (12) and Michael Jordan (11). This was also the eighth time James (709 REB, 747 AST) registered at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a season in his career, the most such seasons for any player in NBA history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two other players have had more than two 2,000-point, 500-rebound, 500-assist seasons (Oscar Robertson-6, Larry Bird-3).
New Orleans’ Anthony Davis won Player of the Month accolades for the Western Conference.
