Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard named NBA Players of the Month

The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in March.

Antetokounmpo helped the Bucks finish an Eastern Conference-best 14-4 in March, the franchise’s first calendar month with at least 14 victories since going 16-2 in February 1971.  The 22-year-old from Greece averaged 22.4 points (ninth in the East), 8.4 rebounds (10th in the East), 4.8 assists, 1.78 blocked shots (fourth in the East) and 1.33 steals in 18 games.

Behind Lillard, the Trail Blazers went an NBA-best 13-3 in March to surge into eighth place in the Western Conference.  Lillard ranked third in the NBA in scoring (29.1 ppg) and tied for fourth in three-pointers made (55) to go with 6.0 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.44 steals in 16 games.

Other nominees for the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Indiana’s Paul George, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Houston’s James Harden, LA Clippers’ Blake Griffin, Miami’s Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan.