Bob Cousy vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

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

Bob Cousy played 14 years in the NBA, 1 less than James Harden, who played 15. Bob Cousy had the first of his seasons in 1950-51, 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
Bob Cousy	14	13	1950-51 to 1969-70
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1950-51	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Bob Cousy	69	-	15.6	-	-	6.9	4.9	-	-	-	2.7	5.8	16.5	.352	-	-	-	4.0	5.3	.756
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		%
Bob Cousy	2	-	14.0	-	-	7.5	6.0	-	-	-	4.0	4.5	21.0	.214	-	-	-	5.0	6.0	.833
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1951-52	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div 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		%
Bob Cousy	66	40.6	21.7	-	-	6.4	6.7	-	-	-	2.9	7.8	21.0	.369	-	-	-	6.2	7.7	.808
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		%
Bob Cousy	3	46.0	31.0	-	-	4.0	6.3	-	-	-	4.3	8.7	21.7	.400	-	-	-	13.7	14.7	.932
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1952-53	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	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		%
Bob Cousy	71	41.5	19.8	-	-	6.3	7.7	-	-	-	3.2	6.5	18.6	.352	-	-	-	6.7	8.3	.816
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		%
Bob Cousy	6	45.0	25.5	-	-	4.2	6.2	-	-	-	3.5	7.7	20.0	.383	-	-	-	10.2	12.2	.836
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1953-54	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	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		%
Bob Cousy	72	39.7	19.2	-	-	5.5	7.2	-	-	-	2.8	6.8	17.5	.385	-	-	-	5.7	7.3	.787
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		%
Bob Cousy	6	43.3	21.0	-	-	5.3	6.3	-	-	-	3.3	5.5	19.3	.284	-	-	-	10.0	12.5	.800
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1954-55	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	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		%
Bob Cousy	71	38.7	21.2	-	-	6.0	7.8	-	-	-	2.3	7.4	18.5	.397	-	-	-	6.5	8.0	.807
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		%
Bob Cousy	7	42.7	21.7	-	-	6.1	9.3	-	-	-	3.7	7.6	19.9	.381	-	-	-	6.6	6.9	.958
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1955-56	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Bob Cousy	72	38.4	18.8	-	-	6.8	8.9	-	-	-	2.9	6.1	17.0	.360	-	-	-	6.6	7.8	.844
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		%
Bob Cousy	3	41.3	26.3	-	-	8.0	8.7	-	-	-	1.3	9.3	18.7	.500	-	-	-	7.7	8.3	.920
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1956-57	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets 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		%
Bob Cousy	64	36.9	20.6	-	-	4.8	7.5	-	-	-	2.1	7.5	19.8	.378	-	-	-	5.7	6.9	.821
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		%
Bob Cousy	10	44.0	20.2	-	-	6.1	9.3	-	-	-	2.7	6.7	20.7	.324	-	-	-	6.8	9.1	.747
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1957-58	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA 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		%
Bob Cousy	65	34.2	18.0	-	-	5.0	7.1	-	-	-	2.1	6.8	19.4	.353	-	-	-	4.3	5.0	.850
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		%
Bob Cousy	11	41.5	18.0	-	-	6.5	7.5	-	-	-	1.8	6.1	17.8	.342	-	-	-	5.8	6.8	.853
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1958-59	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bob Cousy	65	37.0	20.0	-	-	5.5	8.6	-	-	-	2.1	7.4	19.4	.384	-	-	-	5.1	5.9	.855
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		%
Bob Cousy	11	41.8	19.5	-	-	6.9	10.8	-	-	-	2.5	6.5	20.1	.326	-	-	-	6.4	8.5	.745
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1959-60	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bob Cousy	75	34.5	19.4	-	-	4.7	9.5	-	-	-	1.9	7.6	19.7	.384	-	-	-	4.3	5.4	.792
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		%
Bob Cousy	13	36.0	15.3	-	-	3.7	8.9	-	-	-	2.1	6.2	20.2	.305	-	-	-	3.0	3.9	.765
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1960-61	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bob Cousy	76	32.5	18.1	-	-	4.4	7.7	-	-	-	2.6	6.8	18.2	.371	-	-	-	4.6	5.9	.779
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		%
Bob Cousy	10	33.7	16.7	-	-	4.3	9.1	-	-	-	3.3	5.0	14.7	.340	-	-	-	6.7	8.8	.761
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1961-62	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bob Cousy	75	28.2	15.7	-	-	3.5	7.8	-	-	-	1.8	6.2	15.7	.391	-	-	-	3.3	4.4	.754
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		%
Bob Cousy	14	33.9	16.0	-	-	4.6	8.8	-	-	-	3.1	6.1	17.2	.357	-	-	-	3.7	5.4	.684
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1962-63	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bob Cousy	76	26.0	13.2	-	-	2.5	6.8	-	-	-	2.3	5.2	13.0	.397	-	-	-	2.9	3.9	.735
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		%
Bob Cousy	13	30.2	14.1	-	-	2.5	8.9	-	-	-	3.4	5.5	15.7	.353	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	.830
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: Bob Cousy didn't play in 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68 and 1968-69.


Season 14
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	1969-70	2022-23
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	Assists Leader
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Bob Cousy	7	4.9	0.7	-	-	0.7	1.4	-	-	-	1.6	0.1	0.4	.333	-	-	-	0.4	0.4	1.000
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		%
Bob Cousy	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Bob Cousy	James Harden
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Clippers 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		%
Bob Cousy	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Bob Cousy	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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 Cousy vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

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