2012 NBA Sixth Man Award: Thunder Star James Harden Wins Role Player Award
Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden has been in the news recently for eating a vicious elbow from Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace, but he must be much happier to be making headlines for his accomplishments, as he's expected to be named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, according to a report from The Oklahoman. The report also states that the official announcement from the NBA should come some time late Thursday.
Update: Thursday, May 10 at 6:45 p.m. ET
It's official; the NBA has named Harden the Sixth Man of the Year, in convincing fashion. The Thunder swingman earned 115 of 119 first place votes en route to a dominant victory in the award. It's Harden's first time winning the award, and he knocked off two-time defending winner Lamar Odom from his lofty perch atop the league's best bench players.
Update: Thursday, May 10 at 11:30 a.m. ET
It's pretty much official now, as J. Michael Falgoust, an NBA writer for USA Today, tweeted when the NBA plans to announce it publicly.
"#Thunder will announce this afternoon that James Harden is winner of top 6th man award. About 3 or 4 ET #nba
— J. Michael(@jmikeNBAusat) May 10, 2012"
Although Harden had some quality competition in the form of Lou Williams, Jason Terry, Al Harrington and others, there was never really any doubt that OKC's bearded wonder would take home the hardware. Harden averaged nearly 17 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in just over 31 minutes per contest in the regular season.
The Thunder lean largely on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for offensive production, but it would certainly be unfair to call Harden a third wheel. Without Harden's dynamic play this season, Oklahoma City wouldn't be nearly as dangerous of a team. He is shooting over 49 percent from the field and can score the basketball in several ways.
Harden is efficient from beyond the arc (39 percent) and from the charity stripe (85 percent), so it's basically impossible for opposing defenses to account for every facet of his game. There isn't a player in the league who is a bigger spark off the bench than Harden, and because of that, he undoubtedly deserves the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
While Harden probably doesn't get the respect he deserves since he shares a backcourt with Durant and Westbrook, he will be integral to the Thunder's title hopes this season and in the future. Already one of the most explosive scorers in the league at the age of 22, Harden could have several other awards coming his way over the course of his career.
Harden may be Oklahoma City's sixth man by definition, but there is no question that he is among the squad's most important players. There are few teams in the league with the ability to bring a player of Harden's caliber off the bench, and it is a big reason why many consider the Thunder to be a team that will be contending for many years to come.
