James Harden Wins MVP Over LeBron, Ben Simmons Rookie Of The Year

Houston Rockets guard James Harden was awarded MVP for the first time in his professional career at the NBA Awards on Monday night.

The 28-year-old was the leading frontrunner for the accolade after an impressive regular season that saw him average 30.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists as the Rockets finished their campaign as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 67-15 record.

"Wow, all glory to God man. Huge shoutout to the NBA and all the legends that paved the way for me to play the game like I do and love. Huge shoutouts to the Rockets, the whole city of H-Town ... everyone that helped to where I want to go," Harden said after accepting the award. "Sixth Man of the Year to MVP. Shoutout to all the young ones, they've got a dream, go take it, go chase that dream. I'll see ya'll next year."

Harden was unable to cap off a remarkable regular season with a championship however, as the Rockets took the Golden State Warriors the full distance in the Western Conference Finals before eventually losing their pivotal Game 7 encounter.

He notably defeated the likes of Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, who experienced one of his best individual seasons, as well as New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis to win the award.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons won Rookie of the Year ahead of the Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell. There was a lot of debate as to whether Simmons qualified as a rookie as while he was playing in his first full season, he was a rookie from the previous year but missed out due to injury.

Regardless, the Melbourne native averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists as he helped the Sixers end the regular season strongly as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference before helping them reach the second round of the playoffs where they exited to the Boston Celtics.

"I’d like to thank my family … my teammates, my great coach and the city of Philadelphia for really embracing me," Simmons said after winning the award.

Mitchell, who averaged 20.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists, would have probably won the award any other year as he also had a standout season, helping his side finish as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. The Jazz did have a player winning an accolade though, as Rudy Gobert won Defensive Player of the Year ahead of the likes of Davis and Joel Embiid.

Dwane Casey won Coach of the Year after helping the Toronto Raptors finish the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, though he would later be fired in the postseason after once again succumbing to defeat against the Cavaliers in the second round.

The Los Angeles Clippers' Lou Williams won Sixth Man of the Year while Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo won Most Improved Player.