Houston Rockets guard James Harden had a good enough season this year that he could have won the NBA MVP award for his efforts.However, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the season, so he ended up winning the award over the Rockets' star on Monday night.Westbrook now takes his place among the greatest players in the star-studded history of the NBA, but don't ask Harden to name any of those players.When Drake, who was hosting the awards show, asked Harden who his favorite NBA MVP was, Harden was left speechless, unable to name a single former MVP, as you can see in the video below:

“There were so many... um,” was all Harden could manage to say before falling silent. Fortunately, Drake didn't let the awkward moment go on too long before he moved on.

Perhaps Harden simply was struggling to pick just one MVP. He could have named Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, LeBron James or any number of great players throughout the history of the league.

One answer he didn't give was Russell Westbrook, who ended up walking away with the 2017 MVP award later that night, outscoring Harden in the voting.

Westbrook received 69 or the 101 first-place votes, with Harden getting 22. San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard picked up nine votes and Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James got one.

During his acceptance speech, Westbrook said he has been dreaming of being the NBA MVP for a long time, but never thought he'd actually be standing up in front of his peers with the award (via ESPN.com):

"I remember growing up just being home, playing the video games and stuff with my pops, and my mom sitting there and my brother and just talking about maybe one day I could be the MVP. Obviously I was joking at the time," Westbrook said.

"But now to be standing here with this trophy next to me is a true blessing, man, and it's an unbelievable feeling, something that I can never imagine."

Now the pressure is on Harden to do even more this upcoming season, as he was a close second to Westbrook this time around.

Harden's Houston squad won more games than the Thunder, so he should have a better crew around him moving forward.

We saw last year what he can do in coach Mike D'Antoni's fast-paced offense, so if he's able to take the next step in 2017-18, he may be able to name himself when asked about his favorite MVP in the future.