HOUSTON – Tonight, the NBA announced reserves for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game and Rockets guard James Harden was one of seven players selected to represent the Western Conference. Harden has been named an All-Star in each of his four seasons as a Rocket, making him the seventh player in franchise history with at least four appearances.
All-Star reserves were selected by the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were instructed to vote for seven players within their conference: two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players at either position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team.
Since joining the Rockets in 2012-13, Harden leads the NBA in scoring (7,413 points; 473 more than the next player) and free throw attempts (2,761; 747 more than the next player), while having the fourth-most 3-pointers made (693), sixth-most steals (480) and eighth-most assists (1,796) of any player over that span.
Harden has started all 48 games for the Rockets so far this season and is averaging 27.5 points, 6.9 assists and 6.3 rebounds after averaging 27.4 ppg, 7.0 apg and 5.7 rpg in 2014-15. In NBA history, only six players have averaged at least 27.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds in consecutive seasons.
Earlier this season, the 26-year-old became the youngest player in NBA history to hit 1,000 career 3-pointers. Harden tallied 33 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and a career-high tying 14 assists against Detroit on Jan. 20. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the first player to post those numbers in a single game since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968. Harden also had 45 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds and 5 steals vs. Portland on Nov. 18., becoming the first player in league history to reach those numbers in a single game according to Elias.
The 65th NBA All-Star Game will tip off on Sunday, Feb. 14 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, the first All-Star Game to be held outside of the U.S. The game will be seen by fans in more than 200 countries and territories and will be heard in more than 40 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game in the U.S. for the 14th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports' 31st year of NBA All-Star coverage.