Some blockbuster trade-deadline moves dominated the news this past week, but injuries to key players also helped formulate the upper echelon of the power rankings. Another future Hall of Famer usurped Nikola Jokić for the top spot, and some stellar guard play rounded out the remainder of the top five.
The following players averaged the most fantasy points per game last week (two-game minimum):
#1. LeBron James, Lakers
Last Week: 66.3 FP/G Season Rank: 10 (47.8 FP/G)
LeBron missed the Lakers’ final game of the scoring period Saturday against Indiana but still did plenty on a week where he saw fellow star Anthony Davis head to Dallas in a blockbuster trade for Luka Dončić. With the star point guard not yet making his Lakers debut due to his calf injury, LeBron took center stage in the two games he did play, averaging 34.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per contest while shooting 57.9%, including an incandescent 61.5% from long distance. A significant part of those numbers were accumulated during Thursday’s victory over Golden State, when James turned in new season highs in points (42) and rebounds (17).
#2. Nikola Jokić, Nuggets
Last Week: 61.5 FP/G Season Rank: 1 (64.5 FP/G)
Jokić may have lost his top spot in the rankings this week, but he put in some serious work over the Nuggets’ 4-0 stretch. Jokić recorded at least a double-double in each of those contests – including a triple-double in two of them – on his way to averages of 29.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 10.3 assists and 1.0 steals across 33.0 minutes per game. The do-it-all big man was also particularly efficient offensively, shooting 65.7%, including 40.9% from behind the arc.
#3. Cade Cunningham, Pistons
Last Week: 58.7 FP/G Season Rank: 7 (48.1 FP/G)
Cunningham missed one game during the Pistons’ four-game week, but he was spectacular during the three occasions when he took the floor. The ascendant point guard averaged 34.0 points despite shooting just 36.5% over the first two games of the week. After missing Friday’s game against the 76ers with an ankle injury, he commemorated his return to action Sunday against the Hornets with a 19-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound triple-double – his eighth such performance this season.
#4. Damian Lillard, Bucks
Last Week: 55.7 FP/G Season Rank: 17 (43.7 FP/G)
Lillard benefited significantly from the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo throughout the Bucks’ four-game week due to a calf injury, even though the star guard played in only three games himself due to a groin issue. Lillard posted a points-assists double-double in each of the first two games of the week – falling just a rebound short of a triple-double in the latter contest versus the Hawks – and he capped off the stellar three-game run with a season-high 43 points, along with eight assists, seven rebounds, and two steals, across 44 minutes in a wild win over the Sixers on Sunday.
#5. Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
Last Week: 54.3 FP/G Season Rank: 21 (43 FP/G)
Edwards missed the Wolves’ final game of the week Saturday because of hip soreness, but he accumulated no shortage of eye-catching numbers while leading Minnesota to a 2-1 mark over the first three games of the week with Julius Randle (groin) sidelined. Edwards got warmed up with a 21-point, six-rebound, four-assist tally that also included two steals and one block Monday against the Kings, but he then averaged 45.0 points (on 42.3% 3-point shooting), 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks over 37.5 minutes per contest in his last two games of the week.
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