Congratulations to Russell Westbrook tho. [23] At the season's end, he earned All-NBA First Team honors. [156] Before those last two performances, only three times had a player attempted seven or less free throws while scoring 54 or more points in a game; Harden did it twice that week. He became one of the NBA's most prolific scorers and earned recognition as the best shooting guard in the NBA,[1][2] as well as one of the top overall players in the league. Rockets legends Ralph Sampson, Yao Ming, and Tracy McGrady all entered the Hall of Fame this decade. Wouldn’t it be amazing if I remembered Brooks’ MIP award but forgot something like Eric Gordon’s Sixth Man nod? But it's exciting, and I'm happy. The rest of the NBA has combined to produce 13 40-point games. Following the trend of his three-point contest win, he would beat out the Warriors’ Andre Iguodala and his team Lou Williams. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton- King), Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) shoots on against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Keita Bates-Diop in the third quarter during an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019 in Minneapolis. He wasn’t exactly flourishing in New Orleans after his high-scoring days with the Clippers, and he had played only 45 games the season prior to signing with Houston. But in 2018, he finally got the cast that he always wanted for the Rockets. Beverley was later granted the Hustle Award during the 2017 NBA awards. [10] He was also named a consensus All-American. [109][110] On January 16, he scored 58 points in a 145–142 overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets. In 2018, Harden led the league in scoring and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player. Yao entered the Hall in 2016 with his fellow big man legend, Shaquille O’Neal, and another Houston legend, Sheryl Swoopes. He became the first player in franchise history to have two 50-point games in a season. [177][178] He has talked about his faith, saying, "I just want to thank God for everything he has done in my life. [142][143], After a disappointing start to the season shooting 28.6% from the field and 15% from the three-point line in the first three games,[144] Harden scored 59 points on 18–32 shooting from the field, along with nine assists in a 159–158 win against the Washington Wizards on October 30, 2019—two points away from his career-high. Harden was selected with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He became a sports writer because the reporter that was supposed to cover the University of Delaware basketball team decided to instead play one more season of college lacrosse and has never looked back. He was also nursing a hurt wrist! [106] He also made eight 3-pointers to extend his NBA record to 12 games in a row with at least five. [89] The following day, he was ruled out for two weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Much like Beverley in 2015, Gordon flew under the radar in his competition, upsetting Kyrie Irving in a bonus-round shootout. Feigen, who has won APSE, APME and United States Basketball Writers Association awards from El Campo to Houston, came to Texas in 1981 to cover the Rice Birds, was Sports Editor in Garland before moving to Dallas to cover everything from the final hurrah of the Southwest Conference to SMU after the death penalty. [81] Harden joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to have at least 10 assists and shoot better than 75 percent from the field in a 50-point performance.