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Rockets James 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, Oct. 30 through Sunday, Nov 5 (Week 3).  It is the second time this season and the 15th time in his career that Harden has received Player of the Week honors, all coming with Houston.

Harden helped lead the Rockets to a 3-1 mark for the week, while averaging 36.3 points (52.4% FGs, 51.2% 3FGs, 81.4% FTs), 10.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.75 steals.  He ranked first in the conference in scoring for the week and was tied for second in assists.  Harden ranks third in the league in both scoring (29.5 ppg) and assists (9.7 apg) overall this season.

Last night vs. Utah, Harden scored a career-high 54 points prior to the fourth quarter and finished with 56 overall, which is the second-highest total in franchise history.  He also added 13 assists and shot 19-of-25 from the floor.  According to ESPN Stats & Info, Harden joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to have at least 50 points and 10 assists while shooting 75.0% or better in a single game.

Harden scored or assisted on 91 points against the Jazz, which is the third-highest single game total in NBA history according to ESPN.  Last season, Harden accounted for 95 points against New York on New Year’s Eve.  Chamberlain accounted for a record 104 points against the Knicks on March 2, 1962.

The Rockets currently have the highest winning percentage (.727; 8-3 mark) in the Western Conference.  Harden has recorded at least 20 points and 7 assists in all 11 games this season after doing so in each of the first 10 games of 2016-17.  Dating back to 1983-84, no other player had a streak of more than eight games with at least 20 points and 7 assists to start a season.