Stanford basketball star Raynaud earns national player of the week honors

First, he got ACC recognition. But his strong play thus far has been hard to ignore as Raynaud also earned award recognition from some of basketball's most prestigious writers

Mar 3, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) shoots over Colorado Buffaloes guard Javon Ruffin (11) in the first half at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The recognition just keeps on coming for Stanford athletes. After it was recently announced that Stanford star Maxime Raynaud was named the ACC Player of the Week, it appears that his strong play has reached national attention as he was also named the National Player of the Week by USBWA.

Awarded the honor by the United States Basketball Writers Association, the same group that awards the Oscar Robertson Trophy, Raynaud earns the honor after a week that saw him help the Cardinal continue their hot start to the season, as they currently sit at 4-0 for the first time since 2019, where he put together dominant performances in wins over Northern Arizona and UC Davis.

During the most recent game against Davis, Raynaud had his best game of the season when he scored a career-high 33 points and recorded 14 rebounds in 38 minutes to help Stanford win 79-65, also recording his fourth straight double-double in the process, leading the nation in that stat category.

In those two games during his award winning week, Raynaud averaged 27.5 points and 12.5 rebounds while shooting 56% from the field and 55% from three. Overall for the season, Raynaud ranks second in the ACC in points per game (21.3) and leads the conference in rebounding (12.9 per game), which is also second in the nation. 

Raynaud’s 33 point game against UC Davis was notable for multiple reasons. First, it was the most points scored in a game by a Stanford player since 2018, when Reid Travis dropped 33 against Washington on February 22 of that year. He also became Stanford’s 51st member of the 1,000 point club while putting himself only 35 rebounds away from entering the school’s top-15 all-time list.

During his tenure at Stanford, Raynaud has evolved into a true Cardinal superstar and with a chance to showcase his talents in an ACC conference that houses teams such as Duke and North Carolina, it is very possible that he could also evolve into a very highly touted NBA prospect.