AceShowbiz -

James Harden seemingly is more than a mere fan of Nicki Minaj. After being caught giving the rapper a thirsty stare at NBA Awards on Monday, June 26, the Houston Rockets realizes that "he has a big crush on her."

"He thinks she is sexy and he hasn't been this into someone since he was with Khloe Kardashian," a source close to James tells HollywoodLife.com. "He would totally love to hook up with Nicki."

The source adds that James has always been a fan of Nicki's music. Now, that he had watched her performance at the NBA Awards earlier this week, the Bearded One is extremely "attracted" to her too.

During the event, Nicki hit the stage looking all hot in a cleavage-baring white bra and high-waist shorts. When the camera panned to him, James looked totally smitten with the "Anaconda" rapper, who sexily caught her breath after finishing her sizzling performance of "No Frauds" and "Swish Swish". He gave her a thirsty stare while clapping in admiration at her.

His reaction quickly generated hilarious memes from fans who were watching the NBA Awards. "James Harden looking at Nicki Minaj like he found the secret to immortality," wrote @JoshEberley on Twitter. @bk17_, meanwhile, threw a subtle jab at the baller as s/he tweeted, "James Harden looks more focused here on Nicki Minaj than he was in game 6 against the Spurs lmfaooooooooo."

James Harden looking at Nicki Minaj like he found the secret to immortality. pic.twitter.com/iiS5SNbydP

— Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) June 27, 2017

James Harden looks more focused here on Nicki Minaj than he was in game 6 against the Spurs lmfaooooooooo pic.twitter.com/2T8YNBja6v

— BK (@bk17__) June 27, 2017

"Harden looking at Nicki Minaj the way Russ looking at the MVP trophy," another user wrote, referencing to Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook, who was honored as NBA's Most Valuable Player at the award-giving event.

Harden looking at Nicki Minaj the way Russ looking at the MVP trophy pic.twitter.com/wTq2nRibwQ

— Legends (@LegendsofCH) June 27, 2017

HARDEN BOUT TO RISK IT ALL AND DONT CARE WHO SEES 😭

This is the greatest sports league on Earth pic.twitter.com/CTvOREhxl0

— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) June 27, 2017

James Harden not interested in MVP anymore… pic.twitter.com/uCrYkMPUI9

— Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) June 27, 2017