SAN FRANCISCO — For the second time in as many months, Dallas Mavericks superstar point guard Luka Dončić has been named as the NBA Western Conference Player of the Month. The NBA made the announcement on Tuesday before the Mavs played the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center.
Dončić continues to have a banner season that may lead to him capturing this year’s Most Valuable Player award. Chatter has spiked during this two-month run about his chances to bring home the NBA’s highest individual award.
Here’s the official press release announcing the player of the month honor.
LUKA DONČIĆ EARNS SECOND STRAIGHT PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD
DALLAS – The NBA announced today that Mavericks guard Luka Dončić was named the Kia NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in March, marking the second straight month and the fifth time in his career that he has received the honor (November 2019, February 2022, December 2022, February 2024). Dončić, who becomes the first player in franchise history to garner the award in consecutive months, also joins Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki (December 2004, February 2005) as the only Mavericks to receive the honor twice in the same season. He is now one Player of the Month honor shy of matching Nowitzki (6) for the most such awards in franchise history.
Dončić (6-7, 230) led the Mavericks to an 11-4 record in March, including an 11-3 record in his 14 appearances during the month, after averaging a 30-point triple-double (32.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 10.1 apg). It marked the second time in his career (November 2019; 32.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 10.4 apg) that he averaged a 30-point triple-double during any calendar month. Oscar Robertson (5 times) and Russell Westbrook (twice) are the only other players in NBA history to average a 30-point triple-double in a month (min. 10 games played).
The five-time All-Star began the month by posting an NBA-record five consecutive 35-point triple-doubles (March 1 to March 9), surpassing the previous record of three shared by Robertson and Westbrook. He also broke Westbrook’s record for the most consecutive 30-point triple-doubles (5) after producing his sixth straight (39 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) in Dallas’ 142-124 win at Detroit on March 9. Dončić then matched Robertson’s record for the most consecutive 25-point triple-doubles after recording his seventh in a row (27 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists) in the team’s 127-92 victory at Chicago on March 11.
Dončić notched his 75th career triple-double (29 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists) in the Mavericks’ 115-105 win at Utah on March 25, becoming the ninth player in NBA history to reach the milestone and moving one triple-double shy of tying James Harden (76) for the eighth-most triple-doubles in NBA history.
The 25-year-old closed out the month by tallying 47 points (18-30 FG, 9-16 3FG), 12 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in the club’s 125-107 victory at Houston on March 31, helping the Mavericks snap the Rockets’ 11-game win streak. Dončić recorded 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the opening period at Houston, marking the first time in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) that a player reached each of those benchmarks in a single quarter. He knocked down a career-high-tying nine 3-pointers against the Rockets and now sits at 257 triples (257-676 3FG, .380) on the year, tying George McCloud’s single-season franchise record set in 1995-96 (257-678 3FG, .379).
Dončić, who is also the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, joins Boston’s Jayson Tatum (November 2023, February 2024) as the only players to win multiple Player of the Month awards this season. He helped Dallas wrap up the month by winning seven straight and 11 of its last 12 games. The Mavericks have gone 11-0 in their last 11 games with him in the lineup. Dončić totaled eight triple-doubles in March and now has 19 on the year – a new franchise single-season record.
The 6-7 Slovenian is averaging a league-high (career-high) 34.0 points (.489 FG%, .380 3FG%, .782 FT%), 9.1 rebounds (15th in the NBA), a career-high 9.8 assists (second in the NBA), a career-high 1.5 steals (seventh in the NBA) and 37.4 minutes (fourth in the NBA) in 65 games (all starts). Dončić is poised to become the first Maverick in franchise history to win the scoring title and the first player in NBA history to average at least 33.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists for a season.
In addition to leading the NBA in scoring average, Dončić also leads the league in 20-5-5 games (55), 35-point efforts (30), 40-point outings (13), 45-point performances (6), 30-point triple-doubles (14), 35-point triple-doubles (10) and 40-point triple-doubles (2).
X: @DwainPrice
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