James Harden vs. Joe Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joe Smith 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 / Games against each other

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 less than Joe Smith, who played 16. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Joe Smith had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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
Joe Smith	16	10	1995-96 to 2010-11

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2009-10	1995-96
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	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
Joe Smith	82	34.4	15.3	3.7	5.1	8.7	1.0	1.0	1.6	1.7	2.7	5.7	12.5	.458	0.1	0.3	.357	3.7	4.8	.773

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
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2010-11	1996-97
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	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	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
Joe Smith	80	38.6	18.7	3.3	5.2	8.5	1.6	0.9	1.1	2.4	3.1	7.3	16.2	.454	0.2	0.6	.261	3.8	4.7	.814

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
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2011-12	1997-98
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	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	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
Joe Smith	79	29.7	14.6	2.5	3.4	6.0	1.2	0.8	0.6	2.0	3.3	5.9	13.5	.434	0.0	0.1	.000	2.9	3.7	.775

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
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2012-13	1998-99
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Timberwolves 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 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
Joe Smith	43	33.0	13.7	3.6	4.7	8.2	1.6	0.7	1.5	1.5	3.4	5.2	12.1	.427	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	4.4	.755

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
Joe Smith	4	30.0	7.5	2.5	4.0	6.5	1.3	0.5	2.0	1.3	3.8	2.8	9.3	.297	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.727


Season 5
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2013-14	1999-00
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Timberwolves 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 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
Joe Smith	78	25.3	9.9	2.4	3.8	6.2	1.1	0.6	1.1	1.5	3.9	3.7	8.0	.464	0.0	0.0	1.000	2.5	3.3	.756

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
Joe Smith	4	19.8	4.5	1.8	1.3	3.0	0.3	0.8	0.3	1.0	3.8	2.0	4.3	.471	0.0	0.3	.000	0.5	0.5	1.000


Season 6
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2014-15	2000-01
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	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	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
Joe Smith	69	28.1	12.3	2.3	4.8	7.1	1.1	0.7	0.7	1.3	3.7	4.5	11.1	.403	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	4.2	.805

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
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2015-16	2001-02
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Timberwolves 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 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
Joe Smith	72	26.7	10.7	2.1	4.2	6.3	1.1	0.5	0.8	1.2	3.5	4.1	8.1	.511	0.0	0.0	.667	2.4	2.9	.830

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
Joe Smith	3	14.3	4.3	1.3	2.3	3.7	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	2.7	1.0	2.3	.429	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 8
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2016-17	2002-03
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Timberwolves 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	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
Joe Smith	54	20.7	7.5	2.1	2.9	5.0	0.7	0.3	1.0	0.8	3.2	2.8	6.1	.460	0.0	0.0	.000	1.9	2.4	.779

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
Joe Smith	5	8.0	2.8	0.0	1.2	1.2	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.6	2.8	0.8	1.2	.667	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	1.2	1.000


Season 9
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2017-18	2003-04
Team	Houston Rockets	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Bucks Lost East 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	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
Joe Smith	76	29.7	10.9	3.0	5.4	8.5	1.0	0.6	1.2	1.1	2.8	4.1	9.3	.439	0.0	0.1	.200	2.7	3.2	.859

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
Joe Smith	5	35.4	13.2	4.6	5.4	10.0	0.4	0.8	2.0	1.2	3.0	5.4	11.0	.491	0.0	0.2	.000	2.4	2.6	.923


Season 10
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2018-19	2004-05
Team	Houston Rockets	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring 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	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
Joe Smith	74	30.6	11.0	2.4	4.9	7.3	0.9	0.6	0.5	1.1	3.0	4.3	8.4	.514	0.0	0.0	.000	2.4	3.1	.768

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
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2019-20	2005-06
Team	Houston Rockets	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Bucks Lost East 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	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
Joe Smith	44	20.2	8.6	1.9	3.3	5.2	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.9	2.7	3.3	6.9	.475	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.6	.774

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
Joe Smith	5	21.2	7.6	1.2	4.2	5.4	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.2	3.2	3.2	6.6	.485	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	1.8	.667


Season 12
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2020-21	2006-07
Team	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets	Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East 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	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
Joe Smith	65	23.1	8.5	1.8	4.3	6.2	0.8	0.6	0.4	1.2	2.3	3.3	7.3	.449	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	2.3	.845

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
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2021-22	2007-08
Team	Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Cavaliers 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	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
Joe Smith	77	22.4	10.1	2.1	3.1	5.2	0.9	0.4	0.6	0.9	2.4	4.1	8.5	.478	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.6	.755

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
Joe Smith	13	20.2	6.6	1.5	3.1	4.6	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.5	3.2	2.8	5.7	.486	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.7	.636


Season 14
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2022-23	2008-09
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Assists Leader	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals

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
Joe Smith	57	19.3	6.6	1.6	3.1	4.6	0.7	0.3	0.7	0.4	2.1	2.7	5.8	.468	0.1	0.1	.429	1.0	1.4	.720

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
Joe Smith	13	16.8	5.5	0.8	2.9	3.7	0.2	0.5	0.5	0.5	1.9	1.8	3.8	.460	0.2	0.4	.600	1.8	2.2	.793


Season 15
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	2023-24	2009-10
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks 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	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
Joe Smith	64	9.3	3.0	1.0	1.4	2.5	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.3	1.5	1.2	3.0	.399	0.0	0.1	.143	0.6	0.8	.813

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
Joe Smith	5	4.8	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.6	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 16
	James Harden	Joe Smith
Season	-	2010-11
Team	-	New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Lakers 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 Harden	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	16	4.3	0.5	0.2	1.1	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.8	0.2	1.0	.188	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.1	1.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	5	2.2	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.4	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

James Harden vs. Joe Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joe Smith 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

Season 16