NBA weekly awards: Stephen Curry, Evan Mobley and more

With another week in the NBA down, it’s now time for another edition of our NBA weekly awards series, where we hand out the top accolades for player performances from the prior seven days.

Let’s get right into it.

MVP of the Week: Stephen Curry

Weekly stats: 34.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 7.8 apg, 2.3 spg, 41.4 3PT%

Even despite a Sunday loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Stephen Curry is still our pick for MVP, and with the numbers he posted, it’s almost impossible to argue with that selection.

Curry led Golden State to a 3-1 week, one that saw the Warriors post a plus-49 point differential, even with the lone defeat.

What’s more, Curry posted a 50-point performance (against the Atlanta Hawks) and a 40-point outburst (versus the Chicago Bulls) within the last seven days, showing what an outrageous run of form he’s on.

Two other players who received heavy consideration for MVP of the Week this time around were Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic, both of whom were fantastic this week.

Just not quite as good as Curry.

For the latest Stephen Curry rumors, click here.

Rookie of the Week: Evan Mobley

Weekly stats: 20.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.0 bpg, 54.5 3PT%

The best rookie so far this season has undeniably been Evan Mobley, and that race hasn’t been all that close in a couple of weeks.

Mobley posted another monstrous seven-day stretch, averaging 20.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while hitting over half of his three-point attempts and protecting the rim at an elite level, and it’s largely thanks to his fast start that the Cleveland Cavaliers are now 9-5 through 14 games.

Mobley is a special talent, and as the weeks go by, it’s getting harder to see how he fell to No. 3 in his draft class.

For the latest Evan Mobley rumors, click here.

Sixth Man of the Week: Montrezl Harrell

Weekly stats: 19.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.0 spg, 68.8 FG%

The top bench performer all season long has been Washington Wizards backup big Montrezl Harrell, who has really regained his top form after a down year with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Harrell’s energy, outstanding finishing in the paint and pick-and-roll prowess have made him an indispensable piece for the ¡Wizards, as evidenced by the fact that Washington has been 13.5 points per 100 possessions better with Harrell on the floor.

If Harrell keeps this up, it’ll be hard to deny him his second career Sixth Man of the Year award at season’s end.

For the latest Montrezl Harrell rumors, click here.

Defensive Player of the Week: Chris Paul

Weekly stats: 16.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 7.0 apg, 3.8 spg, 52.9 FG%

Chris Paul has been an absolute pest defensively recently for the Phoenix Suns, something that’s been a huge factor in the team’s eight-game winning streak.

Just this past week, Paul totaled 15 steals over four games, and that includes one outing where he got zero. In that stretch of time, the Suns rank second in the NBA in defensive rating, giving up just 96.4 points per 100 possessions.

Paul’s point-of-attack defense on opposing point guards has been absurd this season – and far more effective than it should be considering the future Hall-of-Famer is 36 years old already.

For the latest Chris Paul rumors, click here.

Most Improved Player: Lu Dort

Weekly stats: 23.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 59.5 FG%

After a somewhat slow start to his third-year campaign, Lu Dort has caught fire over the past week, scoring on nearly 60 percent of his field-goal attempts, putting up 23.0 points nightly and still playing the hounding, elite defense that made him stand out immediately as an NBA player.

Dort’s improved play has helped the Oklahoma City Thunder immensely, as the rebuilding club had won four games in a row prior to Sunday’s defeat against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Thunder might not be close to playoff contention quite yet, but with pieces like Dort, they may not be as far off as people think, either.

For the latest Lu Dort rumors, click here.

Coach of the Week: Michael Malone

Last week, the Suns, Wizards and Denver Nuggets all went undefeated, though Washington did so in just a two-game stretch, leaving Wes Unseld Jr. out of the running this week for Coach of the Week.

That left us with Monty Williams and Michael Malone as our best options, and we went with the latter as our pick.

Malone helped lead the Nuggets to a 4-0 week sans Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., without Jokic for one game and without Will Barton in another.

That’s impressive coaching, no matter how you spin it.

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