On November 1st, the new month began.
In the early hours of the 1st, the NBA officially announced the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week for the new season's first week on its official website.
First, let's look at the Eastern Conference.
After LeBron went west, the entire Eastern Conference became a chaotic mess.
Milwaukee's star player Giannis, who fans had high hopes for, delivered only an average performance in the first week of the season.
Aside from his 30+ triple-double in the highly anticipated matchup against the Boston Celtics, Giannis struggled badly in the other two games.
His bad showing also led to the Bucks finishing just 1–2 in the opening week, and doubts about Giannis began to grow among fans.
This season was undoubtedly Giannis's best chance to break out of the Eastern Conference.
But he failed to show the dominance expected of him.
Ultimately, the Eastern Conference Player of the Week went to Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid.
In the opening week, Embiid averaged 33.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 blocks.
Especially in the third game against the Bucks, Embiid played 38 minutes and posted a terrifying stat line of 40 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks.
While leading his team to victory, Embiid temporarily ranked first in the league in blocks, making his selection as Eastern Conference Player of the Week well deserved.
Meanwhile, competition in the Western Conference was even more intense.
In the first week, three Western Conference teams remained undefeated.
The first was the defending champion Warriors, who were aiming for a three-peat.
With elite performances from Curry, Durant, Thompson, Green, and Iguodala, the Warriors swept all three games, each by double-digit margins.
The second team was the Houston Rockets, led by James Harden and Chris Paul.
After their heartbreaking playoff loss last season, the Rockets returned with a vengeance, winning all three opening-week games under the leadership of "the Beard" and the "Point God."
The final undefeated team was the Clippers, who had traded away Blake Griffin over the summer.
The Clippers committed fully to a rebuild, trading for Kai Chen, establishing him as their cornerstone, and constructing a brand-new roster around him.
What no one expected was that Kai's arrival would allow the Clippers to complete a lightning-fast rebuild.
They dominated their opponents in all three opening-week games, winning by huge margins.
In two of those games, the starters didn't even play the fourth quarter.
Kai Chen averaged 42.2 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists across the three games.
That scoring average set the highest first-week mark by a rookie since the NBA–ABA merger.
Finally—
For the 2018–2019 season, the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the first week: Clippers star Kai Chen!
The Player of the Week award considers multiple factors, including team record and individual performance.
From any angle, Kai was the undisputed choice.
With this honor, Kai Chen became only the second rookie since Shaquille O'Neal to win Player of the Week in his debut season.
"Don't talk to me about LeBron. I only want to hear stories about Kai Chen."
After setting the record, Kai quickly became the hottest topic among fans throughout Los Angeles.
At the same time, major media outlets such as ESPN, TNT, and Sports Illustrated all ran front-page coverage of Kai's Player of the Week honor.
TNT: "An unstoppable performance from the third overall pick, lighting up the NBA."
ESPN: "A historic first—Kai Chen takes the league by storm."
Sports Illustrated: "A truly explosive debut. Kai Chen's Player of the Week honor is fully deserved."
Across the ocean, media and fans erupted as well.
As Kai Chen firmly secured his first Western Conference Player of the Week award, many fans and analysts began to believe that in the Men's Basketball World Cup one year later, Kai would lead a powerful resurgence.
"I think Kai Chen has already locked up Rookie of the Year. Anyone disagree?"
"Don't ask such a deadly question—who's going to disagree?"
"With these stats, he could realistically win the scoring title as a rookie."
"And with his defense, Defensive Player of the Year isn't out of the question either."
"That's still not enough. I say he wins regular-season MVP!"
...
Fans hyped Kai Chen to the heavens.
And given his current performance, the hype felt fully justified.
"Right now, fans are overwhelmingly optimistic about Kai Chen's NBA future!"
TNT's Inside the NBA, even produced a special basketball program focused entirely on Kai's performance.
At the start of the show, host Ernie Johnson introduced Kai's first three career games before asking:
"What do you think of Kai Chen's performance so far?"
Barkley adjusted his glasses and spoke first. "All I can say is that Jerry West still has a legendary eye for talent."
"Before the draft, even though Kai led Duke to a championship and won MOP honors, his draft stock was consistently underestimated."
"No one wanted to believe in him—but Jerry West was willing to trade away the team's core to get Kai Chen."
"And what happened next, we all saw. Kai didn't disappoint the Clippers at all."
Smith added, "What Kai has done in his first three NBA games has never been done before."
"It's shocking—completely unmatched."
"We used to imagine that someday, at the highest stage of basketball, there would be someone like this."
"Now, Kai Chen has turned that fantasy into reality."
Although framed as analysis, the program was also a clear push by TNT to boost viewership for Kai and Clippers games.
And it worked.
What Warriors? What Lakers?
Watching Kai Chen play is way more fun.
==========
Thank you for the support.
100 power stones = Bonus Chapter
Check my P@treon for 25+ advanced chapters
[email protected]/JustTranslate