Oklahoma City Thunder star James Harden is NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year
Oklahoma City Thunder’s James Harden has been named as the KIA Sixth Man of the Year.
The yearly award recognizes the top reserve in the league during the regular season and in order to be eligible for the award, the player must have come off the bench in more games than the games started.
James Harden won the award by a clear majority, finishing with 115 of 119 first place votes. He was being anticipated to be the most likely winner during the NBA regular season. Louis Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers finished in second place with 231 points (Harden had 584). He did not start a single game for the Sixers but still led the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game. Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks finished in third place. Terry has already won the award in the 2008-2009 season.
James Harden is a worthy winner of the award to say the least. The Thunder guard started only 2 of the 62 games he played this season. Coming off the bench, he averaged 16.8 points and 3.7 assists per game with a field goal percentage of 49.1% and 3 point percentage of 39%. Harden also averaged 84.6% from the foul line.
These are all amazing numbers, particularly for a player who is averaging 31.4 minutes per game coming off the bench. Harden had 20 point plus games 15 times this season, and scored in double digits in 58 of the 62 games he played. His consistency has helped the Thunder become one of the strongest teams in the West, in contention for the NBA title.
In the first round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks, Harden averaged 18.3 points, 4.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. His 3 point percentage is up to 46% and his field goal shooting is at 50%. It is safe to say that Harden is having an even bigger impact in the playoffs than he did in the regular season.
Harden has been a key component of the Thunder lineup and is one of the main reasons behind their success. He is a regular part of the team strategy, and is brought into the game not only to rest the main players but also to give scoring options to the team. He is part of the team rotation that has worked so well for the Thunder this season.
In his last game against the Dallas Mavericks, which was Game 4 of their first round playoff series, Harden scored 29 points and was 11 of 16 from the field. This kind of play makes him as good as regular starters. The fact the he plays off the bench adds to his admiration and helps OKC play a rotation that no other team in the league can boast at the moment. Harden is a true deserver of the award this season.
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