James Harden named Western Conference Player of the Week

James Harden was named the West Conference Player of the Week after he led the Houston Rockets to a perfect 3-0 record in the third week of the NBA season.

Harden averaged 40.7 points, 9.3 assists, 8 rebounds. 2.33 steals, and 1.33 blocks in the week, improving his team to a 6-3 record with wins against the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, and Chicago Bulls. Despite his less-than-stellar start shooting from behind the arc, Harden nailed 22 of his 51 three-point attempts for a staggering 43.1% from downtown.

This is Harden’s 23rd time winning the award — all of them in a Houston Rockets uniform. This is also the sixth time Harden has won the award in the first three weeks of the season, including his MVP season when he won in twice in the first three weeks. Last year, Harden didn’t get his first Player of the Week nod until mid December, the ninth week of the season.

Harden followed up his PotW honors with a 39-point, 9-assist, 2-steal performance in the Rockets 122-116 win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday. Now, through 10 games, Harden is already putting on a scoring champ encore season, leading the league with an incredible 37.3 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds, and 8.3 assists — good for sixth best in the league.

The Rockets may have gotten to a shaky start this season, but another MVP-type season from Harden has them sitting at 7-3, tied for third-best in the West.