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Harden Named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week

HOUSTON – Today, the NBA announced that James Harden has been named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Monday, Nov. 27 through Sunday, Dec. 3 (Week 7).  It is the third time this season and the 16th time in his career that Harden has received Player of the Week honors, all coming with Houston.

For the week, Harden averaged a league-best 34.0 points (53.1% FGs, 47.1% 3FGs, 90.0% FTs), 9.0 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.67 steals with a 3.00 assist-to-turnover ratio while leading Houston to a 3-0 mark.  The Rockets outscored opponents by an average of 19.3 points for the week and extended their winning streak to a season-best seven games.

In the first game of the week vs. Brooklyn on Nov. 27, Harden posted 37 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.  It was the first time a player recorded those numbers in a single game since Harden did so back in January of last season; prior to that, it was Kevin Durant in February of 2014.  Harden also hit an NBA season-high tying 8 3-pointers against the Nets and averaged 5.3 3FGM for the week.  He has 16 more 3FGM than any other player in the league this season.

Harden had game-highs of 29 points and 10 assists along with 8 rebounds in the Rockets 21-point win vs. Indiana on Nov. 29.  He closed out the week with game-highs of 36 points and 9 assists in a 23-point win at the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 3.  That marked Houston’s sixth straight road win by at least 15 points, which is the longest streak in NBA history according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

In addition to averaging an NBA-high 31.7 points and a league-high tying 9.7 assists this season, Harden has recorded at least 20 points and 7 assists in all 22 games.  According to Elias, the previous record for the most consecutive games with at least 20 points and 5 assists to start a season was 14 games by Allen Iverson in 2005-06.