James Harden says he's the best player alive right now

Houston Rockets guard James Harden is certainly not short on confidence.

In speaking to ESPN's Scoop Jackson, Harden was asked who is the best basketball player alive right now, to which he answered, "myself."

Scoop: Bottom line, you are on this team and a lot of players aren't, but in your mind, who is the best basketball player alive right now?

Harden: Myself.

Scoop: That's what I was about to say, "including you." You made that sound like it was an easy answer.

Harden: It is. Myself.

Harden was also sure to mention that although, in his own opinion, he's the best player in the world, he still had a long way to go before reaching his potential.

Harden did manage to post the fifth-highest win shares total last season, along with per-game averages of 25.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists. For his efforts, he was voted to the All-NBA first team.

And, to his credit, Harden did make a note to recognize that he has work to do in terms of catching players like James, Durant and Kobe Bryant. "Until I get rings I can't say anything," Harden added.