Ben Simmons named Eastern Conference Player of the Week

Ben Simmons has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of January 13th to January 19th. Those dates included four games over which Simmons averaged 21.3 points on 61.3% from the field in addition to 9.5 rebounds. 7.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while the Sixers went 3-1 as a team.

With Josh Richardson winning the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award for the previous week, a Sixers’ player has now grabbed the title for two weeks straight — the first time that’s happened since 2001.

More from the Sixers press release:

PHILADELPHIA – JAN. 20, 2020 – The NBA announced today that Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for play during the week of Monday, Jan. 13 through Sunday, Jan. 19. This marks Simmons’ third career Player of the Week honor, earning the award in each of his first three seasons in the NBA (April 9, 2018 and March 4, 2019).

Simmons’ award marks Philadelphia’s second consecutive winner after Josh Richardson earned Player of the Week honors on Jan. 13. The last time the 76ers were awarded back-to-back Player of the Week honors was the 2002-03 season when Hall of Famer Allen Iverson earned the honor in consecutive weeks. The last time two different 76ers earned the award in back-to-back weeks was when Aaron McKie and Iverson did so in 2000-01.

For the week, the 76ers played in four games, earning a 3-1 record. Simmons recorded a total of 85 points through four games, averaging 21.3 points on the week. The 2019 NBA All-Star notched 20-or-more points in a career-high four straight games. Simmons also averaged 9.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, the only Eastern Conference player to record such averages last week and one of three in the NBA.

Simmons registered a double-double in three of the four games, with all three coming in the form of 20-10 games (two point-rebound double-doubles and one point-assist double-double). The NBA steals leader recorded at least one swipe in each of the four games, sending his season total to 88. Overall, the third-year NBA player has upped his streak of double-digit scoring to 18-consecutive games, the fourth-longest streak of his career.

On Wednesday, Jan. 17 against Brooklyn at home, Simmons played in his 200th career game. Through those 200 contests, Simmons scored 3,228 points, collected 1,660 rebounds and dished out 1,608 assists. Simmons joined Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson as the only three players in NBA history to reach at least 3,000 points, 1,500 rebounds and 1,500 assists in 200 career games.

In the team’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, Jan. 17, Simmons scored 12 of his 20 points in the first half, marking the fourth game in a row that he scored 10-plus in the first half. Against New York on Jan. 18, Simmons locked in his fourth consecutive 20-plus point game, along with his 18th-straight double-digit scoring game, helping the 76ers snap a six-game road losing streak. Philadelphia sealed the season series against the Knicks on Saturday, owning a 3-0 record this season. Simmons is 11-0 in his career against New York.

At Indiana on Monday, Jan. 13, Simmons led the team in scoring (24) and rebounding (14).

Simmons currently leads the league in steals (88), steals per game (2.1) and loose balls recovered (77), and is averaging 15.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists (fifth in NBA) per game. Simmons is the only Eastern Conference player this season averaging at least 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists per contest and the only other players in the league doing so are Lakers’ LeBron James and Dallas’ Luka Dončić.

The announcement that Simmons won the weekly award came in the middle of the Sixers’ game against the Brooklyn Nets Monday afternoon. Coincidentally, Simmons was far and away the best player on the court in that game, finishing with a 34-point, 12-rebound, 12-assist triple-double while also registering 5 steals and 2 blocks. He’s on a tear lately.