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LeBron James was named the NBA's Player of the Month for the 35th time in his career when he earned the honor announced Friday for games played during October and November. James, who took the honor for the Eastern Conference with Cleveland while Houston's James Harden won from the West, averaged 28 points, 8.5 assists and 8.2 rebounds in 22 games while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor.
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James highlighted his strong start with a franchise-record 57 points at Washington on Nov. 3 and led the Cavaliers to 10 straight wins closing the month.
Harden leads the NBA in scoring (31.5 points) and assists (9.8) while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from beyond the arc. Harden's Houston Rockets (17-4) own the best record in the Western Conference despite playing most of the first six weeks without All-Star point guard Chris Paul.
The NBA's monthly awards also included honors for point guard Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers and power forward Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers, who were named the NBA's rookies of the month for the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively.
Simmons drew some comparisons to James while leading all rookies in scoring (18.6 points), rebounds (9.4), assists (7.2) and steals (2.25). Simmons joined Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to record a pair of triple-doubles within their first nine games.
Kuzma led all West rookies in scoring (16.7 points) and field-goal percentage (50.4). Kuzma became the first Lakers rookie since Magic Johnson to collect 30 points and 10 rebounds in a game when he reached those marks on Nov. 17 against the Phoenix Suns.
Additionally, Boston's Brad Stevens and Houston's Mike D'Antoni were named the East and West coaches of the month. Stevens guided the Celtics to an NBA-best 19-4 record, including a league-high 16-game winning streak, in October and November.
The D'Antoni-led Rockets are currently atop the West with a 17-4 record.
