Former Arizona State Sun Devils star James Harden was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the 2017-18 season, becoming the first player in ASU history to win the award.
Harden was announced as the winner of the award during the 2018 NBA Awards in Santa Monica, California, on Monday night.
Harden starred at ASU for two seasons from 2007-09. He averaged 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game during his sophomore season with the Sun Devils and was named 2009 Pac-10 Player of the Year.
MVP 🏆 pic.twitter.com/PBHm66Q8av
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) June 26, 2018
MOST. VALUABLE. PLAYER. 🏆
Congrats, @JHarden13!#Rockets | #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/2kNFWAgUBx
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) June 26, 2018
Harden was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and is a six-time NBA All-Star Game selection. He helped guide the Houston Rockets to the NBA's best regular-season record last season (65-17) when he averaged 30.4 points, 8.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Harden finished second in last year's MVP voting behind former teammate Russell Westbrook. This year, he beat out two other finalists, Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Pelicans center Anthony Davis, for the award.
