SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Houston's James Harden won his first Most Valuable Player award Monday night, walking away from the NBA's Award show with the game's top individual honor.
Harden beat out Cleveland's LeBron James and New Orleans' Anthony Davis to become the third Rocket to win the award and first since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1993-94.
Harden's first MVP trophy comes after he finished the 2017-18 season as the league's scoring champ, averaging 30.4 points while leading the Rockets to a franchise-record 65 victories.
Harden was the fourth player to average at least 30 points per game and help lead his team to 65 wins, joining Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan (twice) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar according to ESPN Stats and Info.