February, 1996
Help select the NBA.com Player of the Month. Check out February's six candidates below, then cast your vote. (The statistics listed for each candidate are current through February 27, 1996.)
After a slow start this season, the Phoenix Suns have risen from the ashes in February, going 9-4 to move back into the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture. Leading the way has been Charles Barkley, who has enjoyed a resurgence of his own this month. Barkley is averaging 24.6 points, seventh among all players for the month, and 12.8 rebounds per game, while shooting .580 (120-207) from the floor, sixth best for the month.
Grant Hill led all players in votes received in the Foot Locker All-Star balloting program for the second consecutive season and posted balanced numbers throughout the month. Hill inched closer to averaging a triple-double for a month when he had 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game in February. The 6-8 forward recorded the fifth triple-double of his season, and the sixth of his career, on February 21 when he contributed 25 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists in the Pistons loss to New York. For the month, Detroit is 7-6.
After going undefeated in January, Chicago has "stumbled" with a 11-3 record in February, but Michael Jordan continues to post dominating performances. The seven-time NBA scoring champion leads the league in scoring for the month with 30.8 points per game, while adding 6.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Jordan ranks second among all players in three-point field goal percentage at .594 (19-for-32). The Bulls (50-6) remain on pace to become the winningest team in NBA history at 72-10.
The Seattle SuperSonics are the only team in the NBA to post a winning percentage better than .900 in February, thanks to the play of All-Stars Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton (see below). Seattle was 11-1 during the month, including two victories in a home-and-home series with the NBA Champion Houston Rockets during the first week in February. Kemp has averaged 20.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, while shooting .577 (86-for-149) from the field. He is tied for fourth in rebounds and seventh in shooting percentage among league leaders for the month.
"The Mailman" continues his special deliveries in February with 27.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game to help the Jazz to a 9-3 record for the month. Malone ranks second in scoring and eleventh in rebounding among league leaders for the month. Additionally, the NBA's coaches selected the 11-year pro to the ninth NBA All-Star Game of his career.
While Shawn Kemp has been anchoring Seattle's frontcourt, Gary Payton has been the guiding force in the SuperSonics' backcourt. The 6-4 point guard has spearheaded Seattle's pressure defense in February, helping the Sonics to 10 consecutive wins, and leads the NBA in steals with 3.0 per game. Overall, Payton has averaged 19.6 points, 7.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. Payton also appeared in his third career All-Star Game in San Antonio.
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