Zion Williamson

The frontcourt stars in New Orleans and Philadelphia take home the honors for Week 8.

The Sixers (14-12) are currently 5th in the East The Pelicans (18-8) are currently 1st place in the West Embiid erupted for 53 points on 20-for-32 shooting Sunday against the Hornets, which marked his second game with 50-plus points this season. The high-flying forward dominated opponents during Week 8 with averages of 33.0 points (on 70.4% shooting) and 8.3 rebounds as New Orleans rose to the top of the Western Conference with a 3-0 week. [standings](https://www.nba.com/standings). [December 12, 2022]

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week for NBA games played December 5-11.

Williamson began the week by totaling 29 points (11-of-26 from the field), ten rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 33 minutes in a 104-98 win over Detroit, his fifth double-double of the season. In Friday’s 128-117 win over the Suns, Williamson notched 35 points on 13-of-17 from the floor, seven boards and four assists. Williamson led New Orleans to a 3-0 week, recording averages of 33.0 points (second among Western Conference players), 8.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 37.3 minutes per contest, while shooting 70.4 percent from the field (first in the NBA among players that registered 13.0 or more field goal attempts per game).

Zion Williamson has put up gaudy numbers during New Orleans' active seven-game winning streak, performing like an elite player.

“That’s big for us,” Williamson said of beating an opponent that reached the 2021 NBA Finals and led the league in victories (64) last season. Williamson’s ability to carry New Orleans for long stretches also boosts the belief that the youth-filled Pelicans may be capable of big things not just in the future, but this season as well. 1 in the West right now,” Williamson said, smiling. He’s reaching his potential, which is really important for him and our team and our growth, for him to be the best version of himself and get the most out of his talent. “I think I missed that free throw!” the 22-year-old forward said of a late errant toss in Sunday’s 129-124 overtime win vs. Zion Williamson laughed and smiled – he’s been doing a lot of that these days – when he was asked Sunday about hearing “MVP!” chants again from many of the 18,681 fans in attendance.

Zion Williamson scored 35 points for a second straight game in leading New Orleans past Phoenix again.

"It’s up to the refs, but I felt it was back and forth.” It really is a testimony to the work and us coming together putting the pieces together to show everyone.” "They're an offensive team that plays in the paint," Williams said. The Suns went up one on a Torrey Craig 3 early in OT, but New Orleans answered with a 10-0 run in pulling out the victory. The Suns and Pelicans will meet one final time this regular season Dec. "It is a testimony for us putting in the work," Pelicans forward Naji Marshall. “I was actually trying to shoot a three if I could," Paul said. McCollum knocked down an 18-foot stepback on the ensuing possession to put New Orleans up five. Those two points are so crucial and you don’t even go into overtime, but we made a number of adjustments." We need to get a win and that's something I know they all feel." "It's just a matter of focusing in on what we can do," Suns guard Damion Lee said. They had multiple defenders guard him, tried to force the ball out of his hands, but Williamson matched Friday's point total Sunday on 14-of-21 shooting with power moves, tough finishes and even hit two 3s.

While Zion has been playing at an MVP level over the last six games, he's still behind frontrunners Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic and Nikola ...

The Pels are currently in 1st place, but the season is far from over and the Western Conference is very good. Right now Zion is 15th in the NBA at 25 points per game, but this has been on the rise of late. The problem with this one is that Zion (unlike Luka) isn’t a one-man-band with no supporting cast. I still panic every time I see him hit the floor, and these questions are going to remain until Zion puts together a few healthy seasons in a row. This is always going to be number one for Zion and so far, he has. Zion is the biggest reason why, so does he

Both players put up stellar stats for the Sixers and Pelicans, respectively.

Williamson, the West’s winner, led New Orleans to a 3-0 week while averaging 33.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steal on .704/.667/.700 shooting splits. [Retweet](http://twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hoopsrumors.com%2F2022%2F12%2Fjoel-embiid-zion-williamson-named-players-of-the-week.html&text=Joel+Embiid%2C+Zion+Williamson+Named+Players+Of+The...)2 [Share](#)0 [Send via email](#)0 He’s been absolutely unstoppable of late, averaging 30.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks on .669/.333/.746 shooting during the Pelicans’ current seven-game winning streak. His week was capped off by a 53-point, 12-rebound outing last night against Charlotte, making him the only player in the 2022/23 season to have multiple games of 50-plus points. [Twitter link](https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1602400731281104896?cxt=HHwWgICx_bS-77wsAAAA)), the other nominees in the West were [Luka Doncic](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/doncilu01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Rudy Gobert](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/goberru01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Nikola Jokic](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jokicni01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) and [Ja Morant](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/moranja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), while [Jarrett Allen](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/allenja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [DeMar DeRozan](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/derozde01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Buddy Hield](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hieldbu01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-), [Julius Randle](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/randlju01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) and [Franz Wagner](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wagnefr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) were nominated in the East. Embiid, the Eastern Conference winner, led Philadelphia to a 2-1 week while averaging a ridiculous 43.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block on .639/.667/.889 shooting. [Joel Embiid](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/embiijo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) and Pelicans forward [Zion Williamson](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/willizi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) and have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced today ( [via Twitter](https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1602400396756094977?cxt=HHwWgsC8yfiq77wsAAAA)). According to the NBA ( 1 seed in the West at 18-8.