NBA
Who was the last American player to win the NBA MVP award?
Six years have passed since the last winner of the Most Valuable Player prize was from the United States of America.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Joel Embiid have become well-known names in recent years when discussing the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. However, the success of foreign players has somewhat overshadowed the talent originating from the birthplace of basketball. There have been many discussions about what went wrong or what mistakes were made by US coaches, as this season, there is no clear US contender for the prestigious individual award.
The following paragraphs will pay tribute to the last US-born player who won the James Harden Award. After a few subpar seasons with the 76ers, he found a new environment with the Clippers where he could excel. The Clippers have had a successful season and are close to securing their playoff spot.
James Harden - the last US MVP
2017 James Harden signed a $228 million guaranteed six-year extension contract with the Houston Rockets. Harden had a phenomenal season, scoring a career-high 56 points in November and becoming the Western Conference Player of the Month five times. He set many records, including scoring at least 20 points in his 30th straight game, breaking Karl Malone’s previous record. Harden suffered a hamstring injury on December 31 and missed seven games, but he returned stronger and scored 60 points as part of a triple-double, breaking Houston’s single-game scoring record. On March 25, he led the Rockets to 60 wins in a season for the first time in franchise history, and they finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed with a franchise-best 65-17 record.
James Harden had a strong playoff performance, with six 40-point games in his career. In the first round, he scored 44 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves and 41 points in the second round against the Utah Jazz. While he scored 41 points in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals versus the Golden State Warriors, the Rockets lost 119-106. In Game 4, he scored 30 points to help the Rockets win 95-92, but in Game 6, despite recording 32 points, the Rockets lost 115-86. The Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs in Game 7 despite a 32-point effort from Harden, as he struggled from the three-point line, making only 2-of-13 attempts.
In June, James Harden was named the NBA Most Valuable Player for the 2017-18 season, becoming the third player in franchise history to receive the award, joining Moses Malone (1978-79 and 1981-82) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94). That same month, he was voted the National Basketball Players Association’s MVP for the 2017-18 season, earning the honor for a second time.