NBA team of the week

By Ethan Barlow

This week in the NBA, the LA Lakers were crowned the inaugural in-season tournament champions, but there were five days filled with regular-season matches. Here are the best performers across the week:

PG – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Gilgeous-Alexander has had another excellent week for the Thunder (Image: Getty Images)

Over the last few seasons, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has solidified his place as one of the best guards in the league. Last season, he was a part of the All-NBA first team, and he hopes to lead his young Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC) team to the playoffs and possibly beyond; he will expect to be on that team again. Despite not making the play-off positions last campaign, OKC sits in third position in the Western Conference and will back their chances to go all the way with the addition of 2022 number two draft pick Chet Holmgren, who begins his rookie season after being injured for the entirety of the last season. OKC started their week off with an overtime win at home to the Golden State Warriors, with Gilgeous-Alexander outshining legendary guard Stephen Curry (for not the first time this season). Shai dropped 30 points as OKC beat the visiting Utah Jazz. OKC ended their week with a loss at the Sacramento Kings, but the Canadian international was still very impressive across the week, averaging 37 points, five rebounds, seven assists, 3.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks. The former LA Clipper shot 54% from the field, 86% from free-throws, and very surprisingly shot just 11% from three-point range, but his ability to get to the basket has always been his main strength, and his productivity in the arc is enough to deserve his spot in this team.

SG - Luka Dončić

Dončić in action for Dallas (Image: Getty Images)

The Dallas Mavericks backcourt has been one of the keys to their early season success, but having one-half of that backcourt unavailable after Kyrie Irving went off injured in the Mavericks’ win at the Portland Trailblazers, Luka Dončić has had to take even more responsibility running the team's offense. After the win in Portland, the Mavericks picked up wins at the Memphis Grizzlies and at home against the in-season tournament champions but fell to defeat at home to the Western Conference leaders, the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks sit at a respectable fourth seed after missing out on even the Playoffs last season. Across the week, the Slovenian international averaged 34.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 11.5 assists, and 1.5 steals. He shot 45% from the field, 32% from behind the arc, and 94% from free throws.

C - Joel Embiid

The 76ers star has had another excellent week (Image: Getty Images)

After missing out on last week's Team of the Week, the reigning MVP has had an excellent week of performances to help the Philadelphia 76ers have a flawless 3-0 week. The Sixers started off their week with a win at home against the struggling Atlanta Hawks. They then comfortably beat a poor Washington Wizards team before finishing off their week in Detroit. A win against a poor Detroit Pistons team rounded off the week, but Embiid and the Sixers can only play what’s in front of them. Embiid’s numbers this season have been very impressive, but here are his averages from this week: 37.7 points, 12 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks. The Cameroonian-born Sixer shot 59% from the field, 36% from three-point range, and scored 94% of his 31 free throws.

PF - Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis has excelled for the Lakers this week (Image: Getty Images)

The Lakers made NBA history by becoming the first in-season tournament winners after their victory over the Pacers on Saturday, and it was only right to include one of their main men, Anthony Davis. If there were a tournament Finals MVP, he would have won it, but LeBron James picked up tournament MVP, which was the only individual accolade handed out within the competition. If Davis can stay fit and play his best basketball, the Lakers will fancy their chances to win a record 18th NBA championship. ‘AD’ has been accused of being inconsistent, but over the past week, he has been very consistent; here are his averages across the last week: 38.8 points, 13.7 rebounds, two assists, 1.3 steals, and two blocks. The 2020 NBA champion shot 65% from the field, 60% from three-point range, and 69% from free throws.

SF - Giannis Antetokounmpo

The ‘Greek Freak’ has made the team of the week… again (Image: Getty Images)

Giannis Antetokounmpo has now been in three teams of the week on the trot and is probably the front-runner for the MVP award. The ‘Greek Freak’ helped the Milwaukee Bucks to an overtime win at the Chicago Bulls, but without a doubt, his highlight for the week was his record-breaking 64-point game in which he took revenge on the Indiana Pacers after they knocked the Bucks out of the in-season tournament. Antetokounmpo didn’t just break his own single-match scoring record but the Bucks’ franchise, previously set by Michael Redd (57 points). Antetokounmpo spectacularly didn’t score one three-pointer in his record-scoring game, showing how unstoppable he is when driving toward the opposition’s basket. As the Greek international helped his team to two wins from two, he averaged 48 points, 13 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and three steals. The two-time MVP shot 71% from the field and 76% from his free throws.

6th man of the week - Bogdan Bogdanović

Atlanta Hawks’ Serbian star had a strong week (Image: Getty Images)

Rookie of the week - Victor Wembanyama