James Harden vs. Bob McAdoo Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bob McAdoo and James Harden, 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 Harden played 15 years in the NBA, 1 more than Bob McAdoo, who played 14. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Bob McAdoo had his rookie season in 1972-73. 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 Harden	15	15	2009-10 to 2023-24
Bob McAdoo	14	9	1972-73 to 1985-86

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 Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2009-10	1972-73
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Buffalo Braves
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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 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
Bob McAdoo	80	32.0	18.0	-	-	9.1	1.7	-	-	-	3.2	7.3	16.2	.452	-	-	-	3.4	4.4	.774

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2010-11	1973-74
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Buffalo Braves
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Braves Lost East Conf Semis

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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 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
Bob McAdoo	74	43.0	30.6	3.8	11.3	15.1	2.3	1.2	3.3	-	3.4	12.2	22.3	.547	-	-	-	6.2	7.8	.793

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	6	45.2	31.7	2.3	11.3	13.7	1.5	1.0	2.2	-	4.2	12.7	26.5	.478	-	-	-	6.3	7.8	.809


Season 3
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2011-12	1974-75
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Buffalo Braves
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	Sixth Man of the Year	-
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Braves Lost East Conf Semis

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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 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
Bob McAdoo	82	43.2	34.5	3.7	10.3	14.1	2.2	1.1	2.1	-	3.4	13.4	26.1	.512	-	-	-	7.8	9.7	.805

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	7	46.7	37.4	3.6	9.9	13.4	1.4	0.9	2.7	-	4.1	14.9	30.9	.481	-	-	-	7.7	10.4	.740


Season 4
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2012-13	1975-76
Team	Houston Rockets	Buffalo Braves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Braves Lost East Conf Semis

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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 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
Bob McAdoo	78	42.7	31.1	3.1	9.3	12.4	4.0	1.2	2.1	-	3.8	12.0	24.6	.487	-	-	-	7.2	9.4	.762

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	9	45.1	28.0	3.4	10.8	14.2	3.2	0.8	2.0	-	4.1	10.8	23.9	.451	-	-	-	6.4	9.1	.707


Season 5
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2013-14	1976-77
Team	Houston Rockets	Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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 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
Bob McAdoo	72	38.9	25.8	2.8	10.1	12.9	2.8	1.1	1.4	-	3.6	10.3	20.1	.512	-	-	-	5.3	7.2	.738

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2014-15	1977-78
Team	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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 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
Bob McAdoo	79	40.3	26.5	3.0	9.8	12.8	3.8	1.3	1.6	4.4	3.8	10.3	19.8	.520	-	-	-	5.9	8.2	.727

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	6	39.7	23.8	1.8	7.8	9.7	3.8	1.2	2.0	3.8	3.2	10.2	21.0	.484	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.600


Season 7
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2015-16	1978-79
Team	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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 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
Bob McAdoo	60	37.2	24.8	2.2	6.5	8.7	2.8	1.2	1.1	3.6	3.2	9.9	18.8	.529	-	-	-	4.9	7.5	.656

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2016-17	1979-80
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	58	36.2	21.1	1.7	6.3	8.1	3.4	1.3	1.1	4.1	3.1	8.5	17.7	.480	0.1	0.4	.125	4.1	5.6	.730

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2017-18	1980-81
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	16	20.1	10.3	1.1	3.1	4.2	1.9	1.1	0.8	2.0	2.4	4.3	9.8	.433	0.0	0.1	.000	1.8	2.6	.707

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2018-19	1981-82
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	41	18.2	9.6	1.1	2.8	3.9	0.8	0.5	0.9	1.2	2.7	3.7	8.0	.458	0.0	0.1	.000	2.2	3.1	.714

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	14	27.7	16.7	1.5	5.3	6.8	1.6	0.7	1.5	2.5	3.1	7.2	12.8	.564	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.4	.681


Season 11
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2019-20	1982-83
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	47	21.7	15.0	1.6	3.6	5.3	0.8	0.9	0.9	1.4	3.3	6.2	12.0	.520	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	3.5	.730

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	8	20.8	10.9	1.9	3.9	5.8	0.6	1.4	1.3	1.8	2.9	4.6	10.5	.440	0.3	0.8	.333	1.4	1.8	.786


Season 12
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2020-21	1983-84
Team	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	70	20.8	13.1	1.2	3.0	4.1	1.1	0.6	0.7	1.8	2.6	5.0	10.7	.471	0.0	0.1	.000	3.0	3.8	.803

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	20	22.4	14.0	1.5	3.9	5.4	0.6	0.6	1.4	2.0	3.2	5.6	10.8	.516	0.0	0.1	.000	2.9	4.1	.704


Season 13
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2021-22	1984-85
Team	Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	66	19.0	10.5	1.2	3.3	4.5	1.0	0.3	0.8	1.4	2.6	4.3	8.3	.520	0.0	0.0	.000	1.8	2.5	.753

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	19	20.9	11.4	1.3	3.2	4.5	0.8	0.5	1.4	1.7	3.5	4.8	10.2	.472	0.0	0.1	.000	1.8	2.5	.745


Season 14
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
Season	2022-23	1985-86
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Assists Leader	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	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 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
Bob McAdoo	29	21.0	10.1	0.9	2.7	3.6	1.2	0.3	0.6	1.7	2.2	4.0	8.7	.462	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.8	.765

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	5	14.6	10.8	1.6	1.2	2.8	0.4	0.8	1.0	0.4	2.6	4.0	7.2	.556	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.2	.875


Season 15
	James Harden	Bob McAdoo
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 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
Bob McAdoo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bob McAdoo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

James Harden vs. Bob McAdoo Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bob McAdoo and James Harden, 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