LeBron James: 54th Player Of The Week Award Makes Cavs History, Future DPOY?

LeBron James was just named the Eastern Conference ‘Player of the Week’.

LeBron James earned Player of the Week honors for the 54th time on Monday evening. He’s tops in league history when it comes to racking up the Player of the Week awards. The next closest? The recently retired Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant with 33. Third, with 25 Player of the Week awards? The player generally thought of to be the best player in NBA history, Michael Jordan.

In earning his 54th Player of the Week award, James also made Cleveland Cavaliers history by being the first Cavs player to win Player of the Week in the opening week of an NBA season. This just two days after passing Brad Daugherty for first in franchise history in defensive rebounds.

With averages of 21.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 10.0 assists on 50.0 percent shooting from the field, James shined in the Cavs first three regular season games en route to leading his team to a 3-0 record.

Here are some key statistics when looking at James’ performance early in the season:

While being dominant inside the paint (72.2 percent shooting from 0-2 feet), James has assisted on 46.8 percent of the Cavaliers plays. Defensively, James had a defensive rating of 97 while playing all five positions. James’ defensive box plus-minus is easily the highest of his career at +5.2. This means James’ defense is about five points better than the league average thus far this season.

He’s a big reason why the Cavs have held their first three opponents to 40.2 percent shooting from the field, good for second in the league and 29.6 percent shooting from three-point range. The Cavs also rank fourth in steals with 9.3 thefts per game and create 19.0 turnover per game, best in the league. James’ defensive play goes a long way towards the team being elite on that end.

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James’ box plus-minus (10.5) and win shares per 48 minutes (.270) are the best it’s been since he was 28 and won his first NBA championship.

James is getting to the line (43.8 percent free throw rate) more than he has since the 2010-2011 season. He’s shooting more threes (32.6 percent three-point rate) than he ever has. Meanwhile, his usage rate of 25.8 percent is the lowest it’s been in his entire career.

LeBron James: Cavs Superstar Working On Shooting Form

James has allowed Kyrie Irving, primarily, and Kevin Love to handle the bulk of the scoring while he focuses on playing the all-around game he’s known for. He’ll still dominate the paint and shoot the open shots. However, he’s allowed to be more of a two-way player now than he’s ever been and he’s taking full advantage of the opportunity.

At least, that’s the story of James’ first week of the 2015-2016 season.

What’s most important is that the Cleveland Cavaliers have shown that they’re still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. With the struggles of the Golden State Warriors defensively, the Cavs could be the best team in the league aside from the San Antonio Spurs. If James’ play early in the season is any indication of what to expect for the rest of the season, at 31 James could have his best season in NBA history.

James is playing the best basketball of his career right now, at least defensively. A Defensive Player of the Year award may be calling his name.

Related Story: Which Teams Can Threaten The Cleveland Cavaliers In The East?

Do you believe James can keep up his defensive pace? Or, do you believe that LeBron James can win Defensive Player of the Year? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.