Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden ran away with the Sixth Man Award, receiving all but four of the 119 first-place votes.
In voting released Thursday by the NBA, Harden received 584 of a possible 595 points. He received 115 first-place votes, three second-place votes and inexplicably was left off one ballot.
Points were on a 5-3-1 basis and sportswriters and broadcasters in the United States and Canada had ballots.
Harden played 62 games and came off the bench in 60 of them. He led all reserves in scoring at 16.8 points per game, reaching double figures in all but four games. The Thunder was 14-1 when Harden scored at least 20 points.
Harden was an all-around player, averaging 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting career highs of 49 percent from the field and 39 percent from the arc. He made nearly 85 percent of his free throws.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Lou Williams was a distant second with three firsts, 62 seconds and 231 points. Williams came off the bench in every game and averaged a team-high 14.9 points, becoming the first bench player to lead his team in total points since Charlotte’s Dell Curry in 1993-94.
Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry, the 2009 winner, was third, followed by Al Harrington of Denver, former winner Manu Ginobili of San Antonio and Taj Gibson of Chicago, who received the remaining first-place vote.
Harden is the first player in franchise history to win the award, which was first presented in 1983. The Thunder moved from Seattle in 2008.
Twenty players received votes, including three Bulls (Gibson, Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson), two 76ers (Williams, Thaddeus Young), two Spurs (Ginobili, Gary Neal) and two Nuggets (Harrington, Andre Miller).
The voting is below:
PLAYER TEAM 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL
James Harden Oklahoma City 115 3 – 584
Louis Williams Philadelphia 3 62 30 231
Jason Terry Dallas – 20 21 81
Al Harrington Denver – 9 15 42
Manu Ginobili San Antonio – 9 1 28
Taj Gibson Chicago 1 5 8 28
O.J. Mayo Memphis – 2 12 18
Mo Williams LA Clippers – 1 11 14
Thaddeus Young Philadelphia – 2 4 10
Kyle Korver Chicago – 1 1 4
Zach Randolph Memphis – 1 – 3
C.J. Watson Chicago – 1 – 3
Carl Landry New Orleans – 1 – 3
Jamal Crawford Portland – – 3 3
Gary Neal San Antonio – – 2 2
Mike Dunleavy Milwaukee – – 2 2
Tyler Hansbrough Indiana – – 2 2
J.R. Smith New York – – 1 1
George Hill Indiana – – 1 1
Andre Miller Denver – – 1 1