The 2017-18 Season Awards show kicked off on Monday night in Santa Monica, California. The media voted six of the awards: MVP, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man Award and Most Improved Player.

Most Valuable Player

Houston Rockets point guard James Harden claimed the first Most Valuable Player Award of his career.

Harden beat out four-time MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis for the honor, which he had finished a runner-up for last season to the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook and in 2015 to the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry.

Harden is the third player in Rockets history to be named MVP, joining Moses Malone, who won it twice (1979, '82), and Hakeem Olajuwon (1994).

Harden was accompanied by his mother, Monja Willis, in accepting the award from NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

"I'm not getting emotional, I'm not doing all that, but she's my backbone," Harden said. "Good times, bad times. We only get one life and I'm happy she's my mom. I wouldn't have it any other way, for real."

Harden, 28, led the league in scoring last season when he averaged 30.4 points per game. He added 8.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game in leading the Rockets to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, where they fell to the eventual champion Warriors in Game 7 of the conference finals.