Last week, James Harden did get a contract extension and Brandon Jennings didn’t. This week, both 
received NBA Player of the Week honors.
Harden, who received a maximum five-year, $80 million extension from the Houston Rockets after being traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder, won for the Western Conference. Called a “foundational player” upon his arrival in Houston, Harden began living up to that billing by averaging 35.3 points and leading the Rockets to a 2-1 mark.
Harden had 37 points and 12 assists in a season-opening win at Detroit and followed that with a career-high 45 in a win at Atlanta. It was the most points by any player in his first two games with a team in league history.
Jennings, who will become a restricted free agent this summer after failing to receive an extension from the Milwaukee Bucks, was the Eastern Conference winner. The Bucks won both their games, and Jennings was a big reason why.
Jennings averaged 17.0 points and league bests of 13.0 assists and 4.0 steals. He also drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Milwaukee a 105-102 victory over Cleveland on Saturday.
Both Harden and Jennings are in Chris Sheridan’s MVP Rankings, which debuted earlier today.
Other nominees were New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Miami’s Chris Bosh, Orlando’s Glen Davis, Golden State’s Carl Landry, San Antonio’s Tony Parker, Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao, Charlotte’s Kemba Walker and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers.