Darius Garland vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and Darius Garland, 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

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.

Darius Garland played 6 years in the NBA, 10 less than James Harden, who played 16. Darius Garland had the first of his seasons in 2019-20, 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
Darius Garland 6 3 2019-20 to 2024-25
James Harden 16 16 2009-10 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6

Rookie Season
Darius Garland James Harden
Season 2019-202009-10
Team Cleveland CavaliersOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs Did Not PlayThunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 59 30.9 12.3 0.5 1.4 1.9 3.9 0.7 0.1 2.6 1.6 4.7 11.8 .401 1.8 5.0 .355 1.1 1.2 .875
difference:+17+8.0+2.4+0.1+1.2+1.3+2.1+0.4+0.2-1.2-1.0+1.6+4.2+.002+0.6+1.7+.020+1.5+2.0+.067
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 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
Darius Garland James Harden
Season 2020-212010-11
Team Cleveland CavaliersOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayThunder Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 54 33.1 17.4 0.4 2.0 2.4 6.1 1.2 0.1 3.0 2.0 6.7 14.9 .451 1.9 4.9 .395 2.1 2.4 .848
difference:+28+6.4+5.2+0.1+0.6+0.7+4.0+0.1+0.2-1.7-0.5+3.1+6.6+.015+0.5+0.9+.046+1.4+1.8+.005
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 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
Darius Garland James Harden
Season 2021-222011-12
Team Cleveland CavaliersOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards -Achievement Sixth Man of the Year
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayThunder Lost NBA Finals
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 68 35.7 21.7 0.6 2.7 3.3 8.6 1.3 0.1 3.6 1.7 8.0 17.3 .462 2.6 6.7 .383 3.2 3.5 .892
difference:+6+4.3+4.9+0.1+0.9+0.8+4.9+0.3+0.1-1.4-0.7+3.0+7.2+.029+0.8+2.0+.007+1.8+2.5+.046
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 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
Darius Garland James Harden
Season 2022-232012-13
Team Cleveland CavaliersHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st RdRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 69 35.5 21.6 0.4 2.3 2.7 7.8 1.2 0.1 2.9 2.1 7.6 16.4 .462 2.4 6.0 .410 4.0 4.7 .863
difference:+9+2.8+4.3+0.4+1.8+2.2+2.0+0.6+0.4-0.9-0.2+0.1+0.7+.024+0.1+0.2+.042+4.6+5.5+.012
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 5 37.8 20.6 0.0 1.8 1.8 5.0 1.6 0.2 3.6 3.4 7.0 16.0 .438 2.4 6.2 .387 4.2 5.0 .840
difference:+1+2.7+5.7+0.8+4.0+4.9+0.5+0.4+0.8-0.9-0.4+0.5+3.2+.047+0.1+1.1+.046+4.6+6.0+.037
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
Darius Garland James Harden
Season 2023-242013-14
Team Cleveland CavaliersHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf SemisRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 57 33.4 18.0 0.5 2.1 2.7 6.5 1.3 0.1 3.1 1.7 6.6 14.8 .446 2.3 6.2 .371 2.6 3.1 .834
difference:+16+4.6+7.4+0.3+1.8+2.0+0.4+0.3+0.3-0.5-0.7+0.9+1.7+.010+0.1+0.4+.005+5.3+6.0+.032
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 12 36.0 15.7 0.1 3.5 3.6 5.8 1.1 0.2 2.3 2.8 6.1 14.3 .427 2.1 5.9 .352 1.4 1.8 .810
difference:+6+7.8+11.1+0.7+0.3+1.1+0.9-1.2-0.7+2.2+7.9+.051+0.6+3.1+.056+6.1+6.5+.090
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
Darius Garland James Harden
Season 2024-252014-15
Team Cleveland CavaliersHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf SemisRockets Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 75 30.7 20.6 0.6 2.2 2.9 6.7 1.2 0.1 2.5 1.9 7.4 15.7 .472 2.8 7.1 .401 3.0 3.4 .878
difference:+6+6.1+6.8+0.3+2.5+2.8+0.3+0.7+0.6-1.5-0.7+0.6+2.4+.032+0.2+0.2+.026+5.8+6.8+.010
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 5 29.6 18.0 0.2 2.0 2.2 5.2 0.4 0.0 3.0 3.4 5.8 13.8 .420 2.0 7.0 .286 4.4 4.8 .917
difference:+12+7.8+9.2+0.5+3.0+3.5+2.3+1.2+0.4-1.5-0.5+1.8+3.5+.019+0.4+0.7+.097+5.2+5.7+.001
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

Additional Years

* James Harden played 10 seasons more than Darius Garland in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 7 to 16, from 2016 to 2025—James Harden played in 10 Playoffs.

In those 10 extra years over Darius Garland, James Harden got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Season MVP
Achievement 4 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 3 Scoring Leader
Achievement 2 Assists Leader
Achievement 8 All-Star Game
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