Danny Ainge vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and Danny Ainge, 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.

Danny Ainge played 14 years in the NBA, 1 less than James Harden, who played 15. Danny Ainge had the first of his seasons in 1981-82, 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
Danny Ainge	14	12	1981-82 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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1981-82	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Danny Ainge	53	10.6	4.1	0.5	0.6	1.1	1.6	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	1.5	4.2	.357	0.1	0.3	.294	1.1	1.2	.862
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		%
Danny Ainge	10	12.9	5.0	0.6	0.7	1.3	1.1	0.2	0.1	1.1	2.1	1.9	4.5	.422	0.2	0.4	.500	1.0	1.3	.769
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1982-83	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Danny Ainge	80	25.6	9.9	1.0	1.6	2.7	3.1	1.4	0.1	1.2	3.2	4.5	9.0	.496	0.1	0.4	.172	0.9	1.2	.742
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		%
Danny Ainge	7	28.7	9.4	0.3	1.7	2.0	3.6	0.7	0.1	0.9	3.4	4.0	10.3	.389	0.3	0.7	.400	1.1	1.6	.727
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1983-84	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Danny Ainge	71	16.3	5.4	0.4	1.2	1.6	2.3	0.6	0.1	1.0	2.0	2.3	5.1	.460	0.1	0.3	.273	0.6	0.8	.821
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		%
Danny Ainge	19	13.3	4.8	0.2	0.6	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.1	0.7	1.9	2.2	4.7	.456	0.1	0.5	.222	0.4	0.5	.700
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1984-85	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA 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		%
Danny Ainge	75	34.2	12.9	1.0	2.6	3.6	5.3	1.6	0.1	2.0	3.0	5.6	10.6	.529	0.2	0.7	.268	1.6	1.8	.868
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		%
Danny Ainge	21	32.7	11.0	1.0	1.8	2.8	5.8	1.5	0.0	1.5	3.6	4.6	9.9	.466	0.3	0.8	.438	1.4	1.9	.769
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1985-86	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Danny Ainge	80	30.1	10.7	0.6	2.4	2.9	5.1	1.2	0.1	1.6	2.6	4.4	8.8	.504	0.3	0.9	.356	1.5	1.7	.904
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		%
Danny Ainge	18	36.2	15.6	1.2	3.0	4.2	5.2	2.3	0.1	1.7	3.2	5.9	10.7	.554	0.8	1.9	.412	2.9	3.3	.867
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1986-87	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Danny Ainge	71	35.2	14.8	0.7	2.7	3.4	5.6	1.4	0.2	2.0	2.7	5.8	11.9	.486	1.2	2.7	.443	2.1	2.3	.897
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		%
Danny Ainge	20	38.1	14.8	0.7	2.0	2.6	4.6	1.2	0.2	2.1	3.1	5.8	11.9	.487	1.6	3.7	.438	1.6	1.8	.861
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1987-88	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 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		%
Danny Ainge	81	37.3	15.7	0.7	2.3	3.1	6.2	1.4	0.2	1.9	2.5	6.0	12.1	.491	1.8	4.4	.415	2.0	2.2	.878
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		%
Danny Ainge	17	39.4	11.6	0.9	2.2	3.1	6.4	0.5	0.1	2.4	3.8	4.2	10.8	.386	1.1	3.4	.328	2.2	2.5	.881
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1988-89	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Danny Ainge	73	32.6	17.5	1.0	2.5	3.5	5.5	1.3	0.1	2.0	2.5	6.6	14.4	.457	1.6	4.2	.380	2.8	3.3	.854
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		%
Danny Ainge	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1989-90	2017-18
Team	Sacramento Kings	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Danny Ainge	75	36.4	17.9	0.9	3.4	4.3	6.0	1.5	0.2	2.5	3.2	6.7	15.4	.438	1.4	3.9	.374	3.0	3.6	.831
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		%
Danny Ainge	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1990-91	2018-19
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Danny Ainge	80	21.4	11.1	0.6	2.0	2.6	3.6	0.8	0.2	1.3	2.4	4.2	8.9	.472	1.3	3.1	.406	1.4	1.7	.826
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		%
Danny Ainge	16	17.3	8.0	0.1	1.7	1.8	1.9	0.8	0.3	1.5	2.1	2.9	6.6	.448	0.7	2.3	.306	1.4	1.8	.821
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1991-92	2019-20
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Danny Ainge	81	19.7	9.7	0.5	1.3	1.8	2.5	0.9	0.2	0.9	1.8	3.7	8.3	.442	1.0	2.8	.339	1.3	1.6	.824
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		%
Danny Ainge	21	21.4	10.6	0.4	1.5	1.9	2.3	0.7	0.0	1.2	2.8	3.9	8.0	.479	1.0	2.5	.404	1.9	2.2	.830
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1992-93	2020-21
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost NBA Finals	Nets 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		%
Danny Ainge	80	27.0	11.8	0.6	2.1	2.7	3.3	0.9	0.1	1.4	2.2	4.2	9.1	.462	1.9	4.7	.403	1.5	1.8	.848
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		%
Danny Ainge	24	24.6	8.1	0.8	1.7	2.5	2.3	0.5	0.1	0.9	2.5	2.7	7.1	.376	1.4	3.3	.413	1.4	1.6	.872
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
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1993-94	2021-22
Team	Phoenix Suns	Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	76ers 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		%
Danny Ainge	68	22.9	8.9	0.4	1.5	1.9	2.6	0.8	0.1	1.2	2.1	3.3	7.9	.417	1.2	3.6	.328	1.1	1.4	.830
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		%
Danny Ainge	10	23.0	8.6	0.7	1.6	2.3	2.1	0.6	0.1	0.5	2.6	2.7	5.9	.458	1.7	4.0	.425	1.5	2.1	.714
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


Season 14
	Danny Ainge	James Harden
Season	1994-95	2022-23
Team	Phoenix Suns	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	Assists Leader
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	76ers 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		%
Danny Ainge	74	18.6	7.7	0.3	1.1	1.5	2.8	0.6	0.1	1.1	2.1	2.6	5.7	.460	1.1	2.9	.364	1.4	1.8	.808
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		%
Danny Ainge	10	13.7	6.0	0.2	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.0	0.6	1.5	1.9	3.8	.500	1.2	2.6	.462	1.0	1.1	.909
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
	Danny Ainge	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		%
Danny Ainge	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Danny Ainge	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Danny Ainge vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and Danny Ainge, 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