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CLEVELAND’S JAMES AND OKLAHOMA CITY’S WESTBROOK NAMED KIA NBA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH

NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2018 – The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook today were named the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.

James ranked first in the Eastern Conference in assists (10.3 apg), third in scoring (27.5 ppg) and eighth in rebounding (8.2 rpg) as the Cavaliers went 9-5 in December.  He also tied for second in the East in steals with 1.93 per game.  The four-time Kia NBA MVP finished second in the East with nine double-doubles and recorded a conference-best five triple-doubles, including three straight from Dec. 14-17 to tie his career-long streak set in March 2009.  He notched at least 20 points in 13 of 14 games and recorded five games with 30 or more points.  The 33-year-old forward tallied at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists 11 times.  

Westbrook averaged a triple-double of 27.8 points (fourth in the NBA), 10.6 assists (tops in the NBA) and 10.2 rebounds (fourth in the West) as the Thunder went 12-5 for the month, including wins over the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors.  The 29-year-old guard posted six triple-doubles to improve his league-leading total to 12.  He shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in seven of his last nine games for the month.  On Dec. 22, Westbrook’s game-winning three-pointer capped a 30-point, 15-assist performance in a 120-117 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.   

Here are additional highlights for James and Westbrook in December:

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Dec. 9 vs. Philadelphia: Posted 30 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in a 105-98 win over the 76ers. 

Dec. 16 vs. Utah: Finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 109-100 victory against the Jazz.
Dec. 21 vs. Chicago: Contributed 34 points, nine assists and six rebounds in a 115-112 win over the Bulls.

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

Dec. 5 vs. Utah: Scored 34 points, handed out 14 assists and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 100-94 win over the Jazz.

Dec. 15 @ Philadelphia: Finished with 27 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists in a 119-117 triple-overtime victory against the 76ers.

Dec. 27 vs. Toronto: Recorded 30 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds in a 124-107 win over the Raptors. 

Other nominees for the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Boston’s Kyrie Irving, Golden State’s Kevin Durant, Houston’s James Harden, Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler, New Orleans’ DeMarcus Cousins, Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell.

Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month

The Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month are part of a series of oncourt performance awards called the “Kia NBA Performance Awards.”  The series, currently in its 11^th season, is part of a multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes five of the league’s most prestigious year-end honors: Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award and Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award.  Kia will donate the 2018 Kia Stinger to each year-end award winner’s charity of choice.  The five year-end Kia NBA Performance Awards will be presented following the 2017-18 season.  Kia serves as the Official Automotive Partner of the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League.  For more information on the “Kia NBA Performance Awards,” visit nba.com/video/kia-performance-awards.

 BOSTON’S TATUM AND UTAH’S MITCHELL 

NAMED KIA NBA ROOKIES OF THE MONTH

NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2018 – The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and the Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell today were named the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.

Tatum ranked second among Eastern Conference rookies in scoring (14.6 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (5.9 rpg) in 17 games in December for Boston, which went 11-6 to maintain its place atop the East standings.  He made a rookie-high 59 free throws and finished fourth or better among all first-year players in field goal percentage (52.9), three-point field goal percentage (45.1) and free throw percentage (81.9).  The 19-year-old forward scored in double figures 14 times, including two games with 20 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds three times.  Tatum recorded two of his three career double-doubles during the month.

Mitchell led all rookies in scoring (23.1 ppg) and steals (1.77 spg) in 13 games during December, and his 88.2 free throw percentage (45-of-51) was the highest mark among first-year players with more than 20 attempts.  He also ranked third among Western Conference rookies in field goal percentage (50.7) and fourth in assists (3.8 apg).  The 21-year-old guard opened the month by scoring 41 points in a 114-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 1, a Jazz rookie record and the first 40-point game by an NBA rookie since Blake Griffin in January 2011.  Mitchell scored more than 25 points seven times in December.   

Here are additional highlights for Tatum and Mitchell in December:

Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Dec. 6 vs. Dallas: Scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 97-90 victory over the Mavericks, notching his second career double-double.

Dec. 16 @ Memphis: Registered 19 points and 10 rebounds (six offensive boards) in a 102-93 win against the Grizzlies.
Dec. 18 @ Indiana: Shot 6-of-8 from the field and finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in a 112-111 victory against the Pacers.

Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz

Dec. 5 @ Oklahoma City: Finished with 31 points, a career-high five steals and four assists in a 100-94 loss to the Thunder.

Dec. 15 @ Boston: Posted 17 points, a career-high nine assists and five rebounds in a 107-95 victory against the Celtics.

Dec. 30 vs. Cleveland: Recorded 29 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals in a 104-101 win over the Cavaliers.

Other nominees for the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month were Atlanta’s John Collins, Chicago’s Lauri Markkanen, Dallas’ Dennis Smith Jr., the Los Angeles Lakers’ Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma, Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons and Sacramento’s Bogdan Bogdanovic.

 TORONTO’S CASEY AND GOLDEN STATE’S KERR NAMED 

NBA COACHES OF THE MONTH

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2018 – The Toronto Raptors’ Dwane Casey and the Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.  

Casey guided the Raptors to an Eastern Conference-best 11-3 record during December, including a 6-0 mark at Air Canada Centre where the Raptors have tied a franchise record with 12 straight victories. Toronto outscored opponents by 8.6 points per game during December, good for second in the NBA behind the Warriors (9.3 ppg). The Raptors logged five December wins in which they scored at least 100 points while holding their opponent under the century mark. Six of Toronto’s top 11 players in terms of minutes played per game have three or fewer years of NBA experience.      

Kerr led the Warriors to an NBA-best 13-2 record in December, despite being without Stephen Curry for 11 games due to a sprained ankle. It was the highest winning percentage (.877) for December in franchise history. In addition to leading in point differential, Golden State paced the NBA in field goal percentage (50.9), assists (30.9 apg), blocks (8.3 bpg) and opponents field goal percentage (42.5). The Warriors’ current seven-game road winning streak is tied for the fourth longest in franchise history and their 14 road wins are tied with the Boston Celtics for most in the league.

Other nominees for the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month were Chicago’s Fred Hoiberg, Cleveland’s Tyronn Lue, Houston’s Mike D’Antoni, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Minnesota’s Tom Thibodeau, Oklahoma City’s Billy Donovan, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Washington’s Scott Brooks.  

MILWAUKEE’S GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO LEADS IN FIRST FAN RETURNS OF

NBA ALL-STAR VOTING 2018 PRESENTED BY VERIZON

NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2018 – The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, who made his NBA All-Star Game debut last season, is the leading vote-getter in the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon.

Antetokounmpo received 863,416 votes to edge the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (856,080) by 7,336 votes for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and overall after the first 12 days of fan voting.  In the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant leads with 767,402 votes and teammate Stephen Curry is next with 735,115 – a difference of 32,287 votes.

The 67^th NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 18 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.  TNT will televise the midseason showcase at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, marking Turner Sports’ 33^rd year of NBA All-Star coverage.

Joining Antetokounmpo and James, a 13-time All-Star, at the top of the Eastern Conference frontcourt are Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (433,161) and Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks (359,459).  Four-time All-Star Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics leads among East guards with 802,834 votes, followed by three-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors (259,368) and Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers (251,886).

Durant, the reigning Finals MVP, is joined at the top of the West frontcourt by two members of the New Orleans Pelicans, 2017 NBA All-Star Game MVP Anthony Davis (393,000) and three-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins (356,340), followed by the Warriors’ Draymond Green (325,612).  In voting for the West guards, Curry is followed by the Houston Rockets’ James Harden (602,040) and reigning Kia NBA MVP Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder (438,469).

Under a new All-Star Game format that replaces the traditional matchup between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, the team rosters will be chosen by two captains from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves.  The captains will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference.

TNT will reveal the All-Star Game starters, including the two captains, on Thursday, Jan. 18 during TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader at 6 p.m. ET, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.  The network will announce the reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, on Tuesday, Jan. 23 during TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET.  The team rosters will be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 25 during a special one-hour edition of TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET.

For the second consecutive year, NBA players and basketball media will join fans in selecting the All-Star Game starters.  Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25 percent each.

Players and select media will be able to complete one full ballot, featuring three frontcourt players and two guards each from both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.

After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes.  Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes.  The five players (two guards and three frontcourt players) with the best score in each conference will be named NBA All-Star Game starters.  Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.

The next fan voting update will be shared on Thursday, Jan. 11.  Voting will conclude on Monday, Jan. 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

See below for the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting 2018 presented by Verizon.

NBA ALL-STAR VOTING 2018 PRESENTED BY VERIZON

Eastern Conference

Frontcourt

1          Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 863,416
2          LeBron James (CLE) 856,080
3          Joel Embiid (PHI) 433,161
4          Kristaps Porzingis (NYK) 359,459
5          Kevin Love (CLE) 221,969
6          Al Horford (BOS) 120,016
7          Jayson Tatum (BOS) 98,586
8          Andre Drummond (DET) 85,374
9          Enes Kanter (NYK) 83,102
10        Dwight Howard (CHA) 57,730

Guards

1          Kyrie Irving (BOS) 802,834
2          DeMar DeRozan (TOR) 259,368
3          Victor Oladipo (IND) 251,886
4          Ben Simmons (PHI) 210,085
5          John Wall (WAS) 175,990
6          Dwyane Wade (CLE) 165,163
7          Isaiah Thomas (CLE) 87,680
8          Kyle Lowry (TOR) 85,070
9          Bradley Beal (WAS) 71,079
10        Jaylen Brown (BOS) 51,562

Western Conference

Frontcourt

1          Kevin Durant (GSW) 767,402
2          Anthony Davis (NOP) 393,000
3          DeMarcus Cousins (NOP) 356,340
4          Draymond Green (GSW) 325,612
5          Paul George (OKC) 291,495
6          Kawhi Leonard (SAS) 212,650
7          Carmelo Anthony (OKC) 194,239
8          Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 188,240
9          Kyle Kuzma (LAL) 184,338
10        LaMarcus Aldridge (SAS) 153,599

Guards

1          Stephen Curry (GSW) 735,115
2          James Harden (HOU) 602,040
3          Russell Westbrook (OKC) 438,469
4          Klay Thompson (GSW) 359,442
5          Manu Ginobili (SAS) 231,460
6          Chris Paul (HOU) 174,343
7          Damian Lillard (POR) 148,622
8          Lonzo Ball (LAL) 120,817
9          Devin Booker (PHO) 91,562
10        Jimmy Butler (MIN) 88,009

How Fans Can Vote:

• NBA.com voting page at NBA.com/vote: Fill out one full ballot per day (per day is defined as once every 24 hours) on NBA.com/vote from a desktop or mobile browser.  Fans can select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters.  During the five “2-for-1 Days,” (Dec. 31, Jan. 4, Jan 11, Jan. 12 and Jan 15) votes through this channel will be counted twice.

• NBA App: Access the ballot and vote through the app, which is available on Android and iOS.  Fans can fill out one full ballot per day and select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters.  During the five “2-for-1 Days,” votes through this channel will be counted twice.

• Facebook: Post the player’s first and last name along with the hashtag #NBAVOTE on your personal Facebook account.  Each post may include only one player’s name.  Fans may post votes for 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25 – Jan. 15.

• Twitter: Tweet, retweet or reply with an NBA player’s first and last name or Twitter handle, along with the hashtag #NBAVOTE. Each tweet may include only one player’s name or handle.  Fans may vote for 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25- Jan. 15.

• Google Search: Search “NBA Vote All-Star” or “NBA Vote Team Name” and use respective voting cards to select teams and then players.  Fans may submit votes for 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25 – Jan. 15.

• Amazon Alexa:  To vote via Amazon Alexa, the user must have an Alexa-enabled device, and enable the “NBA All-Star” skill.  To submit a vote, the user can open the skill with, “Alexa, open NBA All-Star,” and then request to vote for his or her player of choice.  Voters can submit a maximum of one player name per request to Alexa.  Users can submit votes for 10 unique players per Amazon account each day from Dec. 25 – Jan 15.

• Sina Weibo and Tencent: To vote on Sina Weibo (weibo.com), the user must have a Sina Weibo account.  To vote on Sina Weibo, voters must visit China.NBA.com/vote, and select up to 10 players. To vote on Tencent NBA Community, the user must have a QQ account.  To vote via Tencent NBA Community, voters must visit China.NBA.com/vote, and select up to 10 players.