NEW YORK - Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks were named National Basketball Association players of the week.

Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal fights for the ball with Houston Rockets' Yao Ming in Miami, November 12, 2006. [Reuters]

Chinese 2.26m center Yao captured the Western Conference honor after leading Houston to four triumphs in six days, averaging 29 points on 55.7 percent shooting with 11.3 rebounds a game and 90.3 percent free-throw shooting.

Yao is averaging 27.3 points a game, 9.6 points above his career average and level with Portlands Zach Randolph for eighth among the NBA's top scorers.

Johnson, who took Eastern Conference honors, ranks fifth in the NBA with 28.8 points a game and is the first player in Atlanta history to score at least 25 points in the first six games of the season.

The Hawks are 4-2, their best start since 1998.