James Harden named NBA Sixth Man of the Year

Harden acknowledged the award Thursday afternoon on Twitter in advance of any official announcement from the NBA: "Thanks to everyone!! I appreciate all the Love! 6th Man of the Year."

Harden has been widely projected for months to be the runaway winner of this year’s award. His selection by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada now validates his standing as the league’s best player in a reserve role.

Harden led all bench players with a career-high 16.8-point average, along with 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 31.4 minutes per game. He helped lead the Thunder to a 47-19 record, good for second place in the Western Conference standings, and the team’s second consecutive Northwest Division title. In a win at Phoenix on April 18, Harden registered a career-high 40 points in 36 minutes.

Harden succeeds former Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom as the winner of the Sixth Man of the Year award. Harden finished a distant seventh in voting last year, garnering just three second-place votes and 10 third-place votes.

Harden is the 26th player to receive the Sixth Man Award since its inception in 1982-83. He is the first player in Thunder/Sonics history to win the award.