The NBA announced today that Washington Wizards Forward Caron Butler was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, January 15 through Sunday, January 21, 2007.

“This means a great deal to me because it’s my first player of the week honor,” said Butler. “We had a great week and we won four tough games against quality opponents.”

In a 4-0 week for the Washington Wizards, Butler and the Wizards surged to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Washington is now 24-16 on the season, tied with Cleveland for the best record in the Eastern Conference, while Butler stands as the only player in the Eastern Conference currently averaging at least 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game.

“We are very happy for Caron,” said Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld. “He has been an unbelievably consistent player for us all year and this past week capped off an outstanding first half of the season for him.”

Last week, Butler scored at least 20 points in all four games, and with two double-doubles in a four-game span, he extended his team-leading, career-high total to 17 doubles-doubles this season. In the two games last week in which Butler did not record a double-double, he notched at least four steals in both instances. In Washington's 99-98 victory against New York on Wednesday -- the ninth of Washington's Verizon Center record 10 straight home wins -- Butler provided the difference with a game-winning dunk with just over two seconds to play. He finished with 27 points, five rebounds and a career-high 10 assists against the Knicks on Wednesday, and finished the week with four-game averages of 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.8 steals per game, with a .963 free throw percentage (26-of-27).