It's rare to have a player about whom you can say, "He is the reason the Rockets finished as the eighth seed in the Western Conference," and have it be simultaneously an insult and a compliment. Last season Harden's slow start dug the Rockets into a hole that got Kevin McHale fired. But with two months left, Harden was spectacular, showing the form that made him the runner-up for the MVP in 2014-2015, and helped the Rockets sneak into the playoffs. This season, with Dwight Howard gone to Atlanta, the Rockets are building exclusively around Harden, who will look to regain his near MVP form with new teammates Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon turning his kick-out passes into three-pointers.
READERS' CHOICE: James Harden