Pau Gasol has been selected as the Western Conference Player of the Month for the month of February. The award is presented by Kia Motors and Gasol really did everything necessary to earn it in February. By taking over in the time that Andrew Bynum went down, Gasol has helped the Lakers go 11-3 and improve their standings in the Western Conference.

The Lakers have really played on a different level this season and look forward to the playoffs when they can finally dominate the other teams in the conference. Production has hit somewhat of a plateau as of late, but the Lakeshow is ready to get on the road and take care of business.

Here is the official press release:

NEW YORK, March 2, 2009 – The Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Pau Gasol today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors, respectively, for games played during February.

Wade led the Eastern Conference in scoring (30.7 ppg) while shooting .502 from the field, and ranked second in assists (8.7 apg) and fourth in steals (2.0 spg), as the Heat went 6-6. Wade scored at least 20 points in every game and on Feb. 22, he tallied a career-high 50 points at Orlando. He paced the Heat in scoring 11 times and in assists 10.

Gasol helped the Lakers to an 11-2 record in February that included back-to-back wins at Boston and at Cleveland. Gasol averaged 20.9 points on .586 shooting and 10.9 rebounds – second in the Western Conference behind teammate Lamar Odom (13.4 rpg).

Here is a closer look at the month for Wade and Gasol:

Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat