Let’s be honest: Player of the Week is a dumb award. I love it anyway.
The NBA instituted Player of the Week and Player of the Month awards in 1979-1980, along with the three-point line. The awards were designed to provide further talking points for an NBA bracing itself for new heights of popularity with the rookie seasons of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
Originally, the league only bequeathed one honor for each week/month. However, starting in the 2001-02 season, they split it by conference, doubling the number of awards that (almost) no one cares about! Even the league’s biggest fans have no idea who won the award in a given week unless it was their favorite player.