James Donaldson vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and James Donaldson, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

James Donaldson played 14 years in the NBA, 1 less than James Harden, who played 15. James Donaldson had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while James Harden had his rookie season in 2009-10. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
James Donaldson	14	9	1980-81 to 1994-95
James Harden	15	15	2009-10 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15


Rookie Season
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1980-81	2009-10
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	68	14.4	5.3	1.6	3.0	4.5	0.6	0.1	1.1	1.0	1.2	1.9	3.5	.542	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.5	.594
James Harden	76	22.9	9.9	0.6	2.6	3.2	1.8	1.1	0.3	1.4	2.6	3.1	7.6	.403	1.2	3.3	.375	2.6	3.2	.808

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	6	20.0	7.7	0.2	2.3	2.5	1.8	1.0	0.2	0.5	2.3	2.0	5.2	.387	1.0	2.7	.375	2.7	3.2	.842


Season 2
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1981-82	2010-11
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	82	20.9	8.1	1.7	4.3	6.0	0.6	0.3	1.7	1.4	2.3	3.1	5.1	.609	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.9	.629
James Harden	82	26.7	12.2	0.5	2.6	3.1	2.1	1.1	0.3	1.3	2.5	3.6	8.3	.436	1.4	4.0	.349	3.5	4.2	.843

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	8	23.6	6.8	3.1	6.1	9.3	0.9	0.3	0.6	1.3	2.0	2.3	5.4	.419	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.0	.750
James Harden	17	31.6	13.0	0.6	4.8	5.4	3.6	1.2	0.8	1.6	2.8	3.9	8.2	.475	1.4	4.5	.303	3.9	4.7	.825


Season 3
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1982-83	2011-12
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Thunder Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	82	21.8	8.9	1.6	4.5	6.1	1.2	0.2	1.2	1.6	2.1	3.5	6.0	.583	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.7	.688
James Harden	62	31.4	16.8	0.5	3.6	4.1	3.7	1.0	0.2	2.2	2.4	5.0	10.1	.491	1.8	4.7	.390	5.0	6.0	.846

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	2	23.5	12.0	2.5	6.0	8.5	1.0	0.0	1.5	0.0	2.0	5.5	11.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.5	.667
James Harden	20	31.5	16.3	0.7	4.5	5.1	3.4	1.6	0.1	2.1	3.4	4.7	10.7	.435	1.6	3.9	.410	5.4	6.3	.857


Season 4
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1983-84	2012-13
Team	San Diego Clippers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	82	30.8	11.8	2.0	5.9	7.9	1.1	0.5	1.7	2.1	2.6	4.4	7.4	.596	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.0	.761
James Harden	78	38.3	25.9	0.8	4.1	4.9	5.8	1.8	0.5	3.8	2.3	7.5	17.1	.438	2.3	6.2	.368	8.6	10.2	.851

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	6	40.5	26.3	0.8	5.8	6.7	4.5	2.0	1.0	4.5	3.0	7.5	19.2	.391	2.5	7.3	.341	8.8	11.0	.803


Season 5
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1984-85	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	82	29.2	11.3	2.0	6.1	8.1	0.6	0.3	1.6	2.5	2.6	4.3	6.7	.637	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.7	.749
James Harden	73	38.0	25.4	0.8	3.9	4.7	6.1	1.6	0.4	3.6	2.4	7.5	16.5	.456	2.4	6.6	.366	7.9	9.1	.866

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	6	43.8	26.8	0.8	3.8	4.7	5.8	2.0	0.2	3.5	3.5	8.3	22.2	.376	2.7	9.0	.296	7.5	8.3	.900


Season 6
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1985-86	2014-15
Team	Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	83	32.3	8.6	2.1	7.5	9.6	1.2	0.3	1.7	1.5	2.3	3.1	5.5	.558	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	3.1	.803
James Harden	81	36.8	27.4	0.9	4.7	5.7	7.0	1.9	0.7	4.0	2.6	8.0	18.1	.440	2.6	6.9	.375	8.8	10.2	.868

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	10	41.0	10.9	3.0	8.7	11.7	1.0	0.6	1.2	1.0	2.6	3.6	4.8	.750	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.0	.925
James Harden	17	37.4	27.2	0.7	5.0	5.7	7.5	1.6	0.4	4.5	2.9	7.6	17.3	.439	2.4	6.3	.383	9.6	10.5	.916


Season 7
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1986-87	2015-16
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	82	36.9	10.8	3.6	8.3	11.9	0.8	0.6	1.7	1.3	2.3	3.8	6.5	.586	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	4.0	.812
James Harden	82	38.1	29.0	0.8	5.3	6.1	7.5	1.7	0.6	4.6	2.8	8.7	19.7	.439	2.9	8.0	.359	8.8	10.2	.860

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	3	22.7	5.3	0.7	5.0	5.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	0.7	2.0	1.3	1.7	.800	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	3.0	.889
James Harden	5	38.6	26.6	1.4	3.8	5.2	7.6	2.4	0.2	5.2	2.6	8.2	20.0	.410	2.6	8.4	.310	7.6	9.0	.844


Season 8
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1987-88	2016-17
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	81	31.1	7.0	3.0	6.3	9.3	0.8	0.5	1.3	1.4	2.2	2.6	4.7	.558	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.3	.778
James Harden	81	36.4	29.1	1.2	7.0	8.1	11.2	1.5	0.5	5.7	2.7	8.3	18.9	.440	3.2	9.3	.347	9.2	10.9	.847

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	17	29.4	9.3	2.8	5.8	8.6	0.7	0.4	0.9	1.7	2.4	4.0	6.1	.654	0.0	0.0	-	1.3	2.2	.595
James Harden	11	37.0	28.5	0.6	4.8	5.5	8.5	1.9	0.5	5.4	3.9	8.2	19.8	.413	2.9	10.5	.278	9.2	10.5	.878


Season 9
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1988-89	2017-18
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	53	32.9	9.1	3.0	7.8	10.8	0.7	0.5	1.5	1.6	2.1	3.6	6.4	.573	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.3	.766
James Harden	72	35.4	30.4	0.6	4.8	5.4	8.8	1.8	0.7	4.4	2.3	9.0	20.1	.449	3.7	10.0	.367	8.7	10.1	.858

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	17	36.5	28.6	0.8	4.4	5.2	6.8	2.2	0.6	3.8	2.7	9.3	22.6	.410	3.1	10.2	.299	6.9	7.8	.887


Season 10
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1989-90	2018-19
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	73	31.0	9.1	2.1	6.5	8.6	0.8	0.3	0.6	1.6	1.8	3.5	6.6	.539	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.9	.700
James Harden	78	36.8	36.1	0.8	5.8	6.6	7.5	2.0	0.7	5.0	3.1	10.8	24.5	.442	4.8	13.2	.368	9.7	11.0	.879

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	3	24.7	7.3	2.0	3.3	5.3	0.7	0.7	0.0	1.3	2.7	3.0	4.3	.692	0.0	0.0	-	1.3	1.7	.800
James Harden	11	38.5	31.6	0.8	6.0	6.8	6.6	2.2	0.9	4.6	3.7	9.9	24.0	.413	4.4	12.5	.350	7.5	8.9	.837


Season 11
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1990-91	2019-20
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	82	34.1	10.0	2.5	6.4	8.9	0.8	0.4	1.1	1.8	2.2	4.0	7.5	.532	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.721
James Harden	68	36.5	34.3	1.0	5.5	6.6	7.5	1.8	0.9	4.5	3.3	9.9	22.3	.444	4.4	12.4	.355	10.2	11.8	.865

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	12	37.3	29.6	1.0	4.6	5.6	7.7	1.5	0.8	3.8	3.6	9.1	19.0	.478	3.3	9.8	.333	8.2	9.7	.845


Season 12
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1991-92	2020-21
Team	Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Nets Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	58	18.5	4.9	1.7	3.3	5.0	0.6	0.1	0.8	0.8	1.8	1.9	4.2	.457	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.5	.709
James Harden	44	36.6	24.6	0.8	7.1	7.9	10.8	1.2	0.8	4.0	2.3	7.8	16.7	.466	2.8	7.6	.362	6.3	7.3	.861

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	2	5.5	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
James Harden	9	35.8	20.2	0.8	5.6	6.3	8.6	1.7	0.7	2.9	2.6	5.7	12.0	.472	2.7	7.3	.364	6.2	6.9	.903


Season 13
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1992-93	2021-22
Team	Utah Jazz	Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	6	15.7	3.5	1.0	3.8	4.8	0.2	0.2	1.2	0.7	2.2	1.3	2.3	.571	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.5	.556
James Harden	65	37.2	22.0	0.8	6.8	7.7	10.3	1.3	0.6	4.4	2.4	6.3	15.3	.410	2.3	6.9	.330	7.2	8.2	.877

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	1	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
James Harden	12	39.9	18.6	0.9	4.8	5.7	8.6	0.8	0.7	4.2	2.4	5.3	13.2	.405	2.3	6.3	.368	5.6	6.3	.893

Note: James Donaldson didn't play in 1993-94.


Season 14
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	1994-95	2022-23
Team	Utah Jazz	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	Assists Leader
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	43	14.3	2.6	0.4	2.0	2.5	0.3	0.1	0.7	0.5	1.5	1.0	1.7	.595	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.7	.710
James Harden	58	36.8	21.0	0.7	5.4	6.1	10.7	1.2	0.5	3.4	1.9	6.4	14.5	.441	2.8	7.2	.385	5.4	6.2	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	5	15.2	2.8	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.4	1.6	1.0	1.2	.833	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	0.8	1.000
James Harden	11	38.8	20.3	0.5	5.6	6.2	8.3	1.8	0.4	3.2	2.5	6.5	16.6	.393	2.8	7.5	.378	4.4	5.0	.873


Season 15
	James Donaldson	James Harden
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	72	34.3	16.6	0.5	4.7	5.1	8.5	1.1	0.8	2.6	1.8	4.9	11.4	.428	2.6	6.8	.381	4.2	4.8	.878

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	6	40.3	21.2	0.5	4.0	4.5	8.0	1.0	1.0	2.3	2.2	6.7	14.8	.449	3.0	7.8	.383	4.8	5.3	.906

James Donaldson vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and James Donaldson, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15