The Philadelphia 76ers had a lot of success in January. They went 11-3, including a perfect 6-0 on the road, and because of that, Doc Rivers was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for January, and for the second consecutive month, Joel Embiid was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month, the league announced Thursday.
In 10 games played throughout the month, Embiid produced a league-best 34.9 points on 54.9% shooting, 10.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.6 blocked shots. He is the first 76ers player to produce such numbers in a calendar month since Hall of Famer Moses Malone did so in Feb. 1982.
The five-time All-star reached the 30-point mark in nine of his 10 games played throughout the month, including a streak of seven consecutive from Jan. 2-19. He scored 40-plus points three times in January, including a 47-point (18-31 FG), season-high 18-rebound game in a win over Denver on January 28.
Rivers run deep!
This marks the first time this season and the second time as the leader of the 76ers that Rivers has captured the monthly coaching honor. He joins Larry Brown as the only two coaches to earn the award multiple times with the franchise. With 13 monthly honors throughout his coaching career, Rivers stands alone in second place on the all-time ledger behind only San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (17).
Philadelphia finished the month with a perfect 7-0 mark in games decided by less than 10 points.
For the season, Rivers has led the 76ers to a 33-17 (.667) record, good for third in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the NBA. Going back to December 9, Philadelphia is a league-best 21-5.
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