"James Harden has his eyes on the prize.

If he's asked to again accept the role of being the Oklahoma City Thunder's sixth man, he wants to be the best one he can be.

In other words, Harden wants to be the best one in the league — and he wants the hardware that accompanies the honor of the league's Sixth Man Award.

"That's definitely one of my goals," Harden said.

Harden finished last season as one NBA's best reserves. He averaged 15.8 points on 46.5 percent shooting after the All-Star break. When Harden showed he was virtually unstoppable in the Western Conference Finals, serving as the ideal buffer between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, many felt Harden had earned a promotion into the starting lineup."