It was announced by the NBA today that Yao was named the Western Conference Player of the Month (LeBron was the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month). As this press release states…

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.

Here’s a recap of Yao’s best games in January:

Jan. 5 vs. New York: Had 30 points, eight rebounds and a season-high six assists in a 103-91 win over the Knicks.
Jan. 9 @ New York: Had a season-high 36 points to go along with 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a 101-92 win over the Knicks.
Jan. 19 vs. San Antonio: Recorded 21 points and 14 rebounds in an 83-81 win over the Spurs.
Jan. 21 vs. Seattle: Scored 30 points and grabbed 17 boards in a 96-89 win over the SuperSonics.
Jan. 29 vs. Golden State: Had a season-high 36 points and 19 rebounds in a 111-107 win over the Warriors.

If Yao gets another couple of Player of the Month awards, along with leading his team to the playoffs, then Yao could get serious consideration for NBA MVP honors. But we’ll take it one step at a time.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 7:34 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.