Through the first seven games of the season, James Harden is averaging 31.6 points and 12.7 assists per game and, if he continues this pace, has a legitimate shot to become the first player since Tiny Archibald in 1972-’73 to lead the NBA in both categories.
New Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni made the wise decision to move Harden to point guard before the season and the Beard is flourishing, so much so that he has declared himself not only the best point guard in the League, but also its best player.
From The Vertical:
Now that Harden is setting up teammates better than anyone else and currently leads the league in assists, who is the league’s best player at his position?
“Best point guard or best player?” Harden responded when asked.
Either one.
“I am,” Harden told The Vertical.
Harden is only one season removed form finishing second in MVP voting, but admittedly did not have a great year in 2015-16 as the Rockets finished 41-41. The star player says he has a different mentality this year and is focused on winning:
“I just want to win. I don’t really think about doing all that other stuff,” Harden told The Vertical. “Being runner-up for MVP [in 2014-15] and having just a not-so-good last year, it was good for me. It was a growth year for me. I learned a lot of things and got better and just have a different mentality coming into this year.”
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