On Monday (December 3), the NBA announced the players, coaches, and rookies of the month for the months of October and November in both the Eastern and Western conferences. Since the regular season kicked off when October was halfway over (October 16), the league didn’t announce their first monthly winners until the month of November was over.
In the Eastern Conference, Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the player of the month, Nick Nurse was named coach of the month, and Trae Young was named rookie of the month. In the Western Conference, Tobias Harris was named the player of the month, Doc Rivers was named coach of the month, and Luka Doncic was named rookie of the month.
Eastern Conference Player of the Month
The Greek Freak played in 20 games during the months of October and November, in which Milwaukee went 14-6. The 23-year-old (turns 24 on December 6) Antetokounmpo posted averages of 27.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks. He shot an impressive 57.7 percent from the field. He also got a good rating on "NBA 2k19."
Now in his sixth season, this is the second time that Antetokounmpo has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Month (also took home honors in March of 2017). According to SB Nation, he became the first Bucks’ player to win the award twice.
Western Conference Player of the Month
The Clippers have been one of the pleasant surprises this season, and Harris has been the catalyst behind it.
The 26-year-old appeared in 21 contests during the months of October/November, and the Clippers went 15-6. He had per game averages of 21.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. He put up strong shooting numbers of 52.8 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point territory, and 82.6 percent from the foul line. Harris was also named Western Conference Player of the Week for November 19-25.
SB Nation recently wrote an article about whether he should be an All-Star this season.
Eastern Conference Coach of the Month
In his first season as an NBA head coach, Nurse currently has the Raptors with the best record in the league. Toronto went 19-4 during the months of October and November. The team had three winning streaks of at least six games prior to the month of November coming to an end.
Nurse was an assistant on Toronto’s staff for five years prior to replacing Dwayne Casey as the head coach this season after Casey was fired.
Western Conference Coach of the Month
Doc Rivers’ Clippers team was atop the Western Conference after the month of November with a 15-6 record. In their first 21 games, they only endured one losing streak of two games. Now in his sixth season at the helm for Los Angeles, this is the fifth time Rivers has been named Western Conference Coach of the Month.
Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month
The fifth overall selection out of Oklahoma, Trae Young became the Hawks’ starting point guard from the get-go. In 23 games played through the month of November, the 20-year-old had averaged of 15.6 points, three rebounds, and 7.6 assists.
Seven of those outings resulted in a points and assists double-double.
Western Conference Rookie of the Month
Taken with the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the 19-year-old Luka Doncic has started his career off in electric fashion. Through November, he appeared in 20 games with averages of 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals. He reached double figures in scoring in each of his first 19 career games.