James Edward Harden, Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Arizona State Sun Devils, where he was named a consensus All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2009. Harden was selected third overall by the Thunder in the 2009 NBA Draft, and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year with the team in 2012
Harden was drafted 3rd overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. This made him the first player to be drafted by the franchise as the Oklahoma City Thunder. The franchise last entered the 2008 NBA Draft as the Seattle SuperSonics.
In his first NBA season, Harden saw more than 22 minutes on the court per game, averaging 9.9 points per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In his second year, he played all 82 games of the regular season, averaging 12.2 points per game. In the playoffs, he averaged 13 points per game, shooting over 47% from the field.
On April 18, 2012, Harden scored a career-high 40 points in a 109–97 victory over the Phoenix Suns. He had the best season in his NBA career in 2012, averaging 16.8 points in 31.4 minutes per game, even though he played only 2 of 62 games as a starter. On April 22 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden suffered a concussion after being elbowed by the Lakers' Metta World Peace, who was celebrating a dunk. World Peace was ejected, and was later suspended for seven games by the league. Harden returned for the first game of the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks.
Harden was named the 2012 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, becoming the second youngest player ever to do so. He was one of the most efficient scorers in the league, finishing second in both true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage, posting a .660 TS% and .582 eFG%. He also led all NBA reserves with 16.8 points per game. Source: wikipedia.org
Harden was drafted 3rd overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. This made him the first player to be drafted by the franchise as the Oklahoma City Thunder. The franchise last entered the 2008 NBA Draft as the Seattle SuperSonics.
In his first NBA season, Harden saw more than 22 minutes on the court per game, averaging 9.9 points per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In his second year, he played all 82 games of the regular season, averaging 12.2 points per game. In the playoffs, he averaged 13 points per game, shooting over 47% from the field.
On April 18, 2012, Harden scored a career-high 40 points in a 109–97 victory over the Phoenix Suns. He had the best season in his NBA career in 2012, averaging 16.8 points in 31.4 minutes per game, even though he played only 2 of 62 games as a starter. On April 22 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden suffered a concussion after being elbowed by the Lakers' Metta World Peace, who was celebrating a dunk. World Peace was ejected, and was later suspended for seven games by the league. Harden returned for the first game of the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks.
Harden was named the 2012 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, becoming the second youngest player ever to do so. He was one of the most efficient scorers in the league, finishing second in both true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage, posting a .660 TS% and .582 eFG%. He also led all NBA reserves with 16.8 points per game. Source: wikipedia.org
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