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The Toronto Raptors' Jamario Moon was named the Eastern Conference rookie of the month for January.
Moon set career highs of five steals on Jan. 18 vs. Atlanta, and 17 points on Jan. 19 at Cleveland. He also ranked seventh in the NBA in steals per turnover (1.16), increased his averages for the month by 1.0 points and 0.8 assists, and led the Raptors in blocks five times, and rebounds twice.
In addition, Moon has been selected to compete in the 2008 NBA All-Star Sprite Slam Dunk contest as well as the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam.
Seattle's Kevin Durant won the Western honour for the third straight month. Durant ranked first in the league in scoring with 19.4 points per game, and seventh in rebounding with 4.0. In addition, he is ranked first on the team in assists (2.4 avg.) and free throw percentage (88.6%), as well as third in felid goals (40.0%). Durant was also selected to compete in the 2008 NBA All-Star T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and the Houston Rockets' Yao Ming today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.
James led the league in scoring for the month averaging 32.8 points and adding 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists. James became the first player in NBA history to post at least 31 points, 19 rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and three steals in a game against Charlotte on Jan. 11.
On Jan. 15 at Memphis, James scored a season-high 51 points and added eight rebounds and nine assists to make him the first player since Rick Barry in 1978 to post 50 or more points, eight or more rebounds and nine or more assists in a game. Cleveland went 11-3 (.786) in January, their highest winning percentage in a month since February, 1996.
Yao led the Rockets to a 10-4 month averaging 22.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. In a 111-107 win over Golden State on Jan. 29, Yao tied his season-highs in points (36), rebounds (19) and free throws made (14). He matched his career best with five consecutive double-doubles (Jan. 19 — Jan. 29) and is the only player in the Western Conference to be averaging at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks this season.
