Cade Cunningham vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison
Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and Cade Cunningham, 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / 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.
Cade Cunningham played 4 years in the NBA, 12 less than James Harden, who played 16. Cade Cunningham had the first of his seasons in 2021-22, 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 achievements, 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 |
| Cade Cunningham | 4 | 1 | 2021-22 to 2024-25 |
| James Harden | 16 | 16 | 2009-10 to 2024-25 |
Rookie Season |
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| Cade Cunningham | James Harden | |
| Season | 2021-22 | 2009-10 |
| Team | Detroit Pistons | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Honors & Awards |  All-Rookie First Team | - |
| - | All-Rookie Second Team | |
| Playoffs | Did Not Play | Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd |
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Rookie Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 64 | 32.6 | 17.4 | 0.9 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 6.7 | 16.1 | .416 | 1.8 | 5.7 | .314 | 2.2 | 2.6 | .845 |
| difference: | +12 | +9.7 | +7.5 | +0.3 | +2.0 | +2.3 | +3.8 | +0.1 | +0.4 | -2.3 | -0.5 | +3.6 | +8.5 | +.013 | +0.6 | +2.4 | +.061 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +.037 |
| 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 | % | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
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| Cade Cunningham | James Harden | |
| Season | 2022-23 | 2010-11 |
| Team | Detroit Pistons | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Honors & Awards | ||
| Playoffs | Did Not Play | Thunder Lost West Conf Finals |
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2nd Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 12 | 33.3 | 19.9 | 1.0 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 7.8 | 18.7 | .415 | 1.4 | 5.1 | .279 | 3.0 | 3.6 | .837 |
| difference: | +70 | +6.6 | +7.7 | +0.5 | +2.6 | +3.1 | +3.9 | +0.3 | +0.3 | -2.0 | -0.3 | +4.2 | +10.4 | +.021 | +1.1 | +.070 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +.006 | |
| 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 | % | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
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| Cade Cunningham | James Harden | |
| Season | 2023-24 | 2011-12 |
| Team | Detroit Pistons | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Honors & Awards | - | Sixth Man of the Year |
| Playoffs | Did Not Play | Thunder Lost NBA Finals |
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 62 | 33.5 | 22.7 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 7.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 8.5 | 18.8 | .449 | 1.9 | 5.4 | .355 | 3.8 | 4.4 | .869 |
| difference: | +2.1 | +5.9 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +3.8 | +0.1 | +0.2 | -1.2 | -0.1 | +3.5 | +8.7 | +.042 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +.035 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +.023 | ||
| 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 | % | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
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| Cade Cunningham | James Harden | |
| Season | 2024-25 | 2012-13 |
| Team | Detroit Pistons | Houston Rockets |
| Honors & Awards | All-NBA Third Team | All-NBA Third Team |
| All-Star Game | All-Star Game | |
| Playoffs | Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd | Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd |
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 70 | 35.0 | 26.1 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 9.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 9.8 | 20.8 | .469 | 2.1 | 6.0 | .356 | 4.5 | 5.3 | .846 |
| difference: | +8 | +3.3 | +0.2 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +3.3 | +0.8 | +0.3 | -0.6 | -0.5 | +2.3 | +3.7 | +.031 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +.012 | +4.1 | +4.9 | +.005 | |
| 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 | % | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 6 | 41.3 | 25.0 | 1.0 | 7.3 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 9.2 | 21.5 | .426 | 0.8 | 4.7 | .179 | 5.8 | 7.0 | .833 |
| difference: | +0.8 | +1.3 | +0.2 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +4.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | -0.8 | -0.3 | +1.7 | +2.3 | +.035 | +1.7 | +2.6 | +.162 | +3.0 | +4.0 | +.030 | |
| 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 |
Additional Years |
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* James Harden played 12 seasons more than Cade Cunningham in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 5 to 16, from 2014 to 2025—James Harden played in 12 Playoffs. In those 12 extra years over Cade Cunningham, James Harden got these achievements: | |
| Honors & Awards | 1 Season MVP 6 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 Scoring Leader 2 Assists Leader 10 All-Star Game |