76ers Rookie Michael Carter-Williams Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week
Michael Carter-Williams is on fire.
According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, Carter-Williams was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, making him the NBA's second player to win the award in his first seven days of action (Shaquille O'Neal, 1992).
Fun fact: The 22-year-old Carter-Williams had only just turned one when Shaq earned the same honor, per ESPN's Tom Haberstroh.
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Young and inexperienced, Carter-Williams spent his first week of the regular season playing like a battle-tested pro. Through three games, the Philadelphia 76ers point guard averaged 20.7 points, nine assists and 4.3 steals while shooting a sweltering 47.1 percent from beyond the arc.
In his NBA debut, Carter-Williams also led the Sixers to an improbable victory over the Miami Heat, torching LeBron James and friends for 22 points, 12 assists and an astounding nine steals—the latter of which is an NBA record for a rookie's first game.
His opening-night stat line also left him as the sixth-youngest player in league history to register at least 20 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals in the same game. The other five include LeBron, Chris Paul, Allen Iverson, Russell Westbrook and Raymond Felton.
More astonishingly, Carter-Williams piloted the Sixers to a perfect week of action. Philly toppled the Heat, Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls, three teams that prominently figure into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
This from the Sixers, a preordained atrocity. Expectations were low heading into the season. Lower than low. Head coach Brett Brown had even said there were only six true NBA players on his roster.
Though their recent run of perfection will eventually subside, Carter-Williams has left a lasting impression on the city of Brotherly Love and the rest of the Association, emerging as an early favorite for the Rookie of the Year award.
"I just try to do all the little things in the game to help my team win," he told the Dan Patrick Show on DirecTV, via CBS Philly.
Philly has continued to win, but there's certainly nothing little about the things Carter-Williams is doing to ensure they do.
