Sixers’ Josh Richardson named NBA Eastern Conference player of week

INDIANAPOLIS — Josh Richardson will tell you his NBA honor was “pretty unexpected" and “dope.”

On Monday, the 76ers shooting guard was named the Eastern Conference player of the week.

His father texted him about the award. So did Sixers general manager Elton Brand, with congratulations.

“I texted Elton back, ‘Did you send this to the right person?’” Richardson said. “I was like, ‘This might be the wrong number.’ Then I started seeing what happened. I was like, ‘Oh, I got it, thanks.’ ”

The fifth-year NBA veteran averaged 22.7 points and 3.7 assists and shot 51.1% as the Sixers went 2-1. This marks his first player-of-the-week honor.

“It is just a credit to him and his teammates,” coach Brett Brown said. “When you look at the performances that were judged that they deemed worthy of that award, it’s pretty impressive. You start looking around the NBA and to be recognized in that fraternity, good on him. He’s been fantastic, and we are thrilled to have him in a Philadelphia uniform."

Richardson started the week with 23 points in last Monday’s 120-113 home victory over Oklahoma City. He followed that with 29 points Thursday in the Sixers’ 109-98 victory over Boston, when he shot 9-for-16 and had seven assists. He finished the week with 16 points in Saturday’s 109-91 loss at Dallas.

“It’s kind of a team award because our team played pretty well for two of those games, 2 ½ games honestly," he said. “Moving forward, honestly. But it’s a dope accomplishment.”

The Sixers acquired the 26-year-old in July from the Miami Heat in the Jimmy Butler trade. Richardson was averaging 15.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 32 games, all starts, entering Monday night’s game at Indiana.

San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan is the Western Conference player of the week. DeRozan averaged 29.3 points and 6.0 assists and shot 62.9% to lead the Spurs to a 3-1 mark.