Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was named Western Conference Player of the Month for February, the NBA announced. Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers took home the same honors in the Eastern Conference while James’ Lakers teammate Austin Reaves was also a nominee in the West.
Even at the age of 40, James continues to play at an extremely high level for the Lakers. Regardless of who is in the lineup for the Lakers, LeBron is ready to bring it every night and that was evident in the month of February.
James played in 11 of the Lakers’ 12 games last month and led the team to an 10-2 record, averaging 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 55.5% from the field and 44.3% from 3-point range.
In addition to what he has done offensively, LeBron has been playing at a high level defensively as well, so much so that Lakers head coach JJ Redick recently said he is deserving of an All-NBA Defensive team nod. The Lakers have held their opponents to 102 points or fewer in seven straight games and James has played a big role in that.
Not only is James the Western Conference Player of the Month for February, but he is arguably working his way into the MVP conversation for what he has been doing all season. LeBron has played in 55 of the Lakers’ 59 games, averaging 24.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists while shooting 51.8% from the field and 39.1% from deep.
This marks James’ third Western Conference Player of the Month award in his time with the Lakers as he also brought in home in back-to-back months in January and February of 2020. The Lakers, of course, went on to win the championship that season. In his career, James has an NBA record 41 monthly awards.
LeBron James: Lakers hanging their hats on defense
As previously mentioned, a big reason for the Lakers’ success over the last month has been their defense. They notably have held seven straight opponents to 102 points or fewer, and LeBron James knows that end of the floor is key for them right now.
“That’s just us.” James said. “I mean, it is who we are at this point. We hang our hat on our defense because you can’t always understand or know what’s going to happen offensively as far as your shooting or whatever the case may be.
“Obviously, we didn’t shoot the ball well tonight or as well as we would like to, but defensively is where we hang our hat. It’s going to give us a chance to win every night.”
The Lakers’ offense is coming around as Luka Doncic gets more comfortable, which makes them a dangerous team if they can keep defending at this level.
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