DeMarcus Cousins vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and DeMarcus Cousins, 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.

DeMarcus Cousins played 11 years in the NBA, 5 less than James Harden, who played 16. DeMarcus Cousins had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, 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
DeMarcus Cousins	11	3	2010-11 to 2021-22
James Harden	16	16	2009-10 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11


Rookie Season
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2010-11	2009-10
Team	Sacramento Kings	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	81	28.5	14.1	2.7	6.0	8.6	2.5	1.0	0.8	3.3	4.1	5.3	12.4	.430	0.0	0.2	.167	3.4	5.0	.687
difference:	+5	+5.6	+4.2	+2.1	+3.4	+5.4	+0.7	+0.1	+0.5	-1.9	-1.5	+2.2	+4.8	+.027	+1.2	+3.1	+.208	+0.8	+1.8	+.121
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	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
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2011-12	2010-11
Team	Sacramento Kings	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	64	30.5	18.1	4.1	6.8	11.0	1.6	1.5	1.2	2.7	4.0	7.0	15.6	.448	0.0	0.2	.143	4.1	5.8	.702
difference:	+18	+3.8	+5.9	+3.6	+4.2	+7.9	+0.5	+0.4	+0.9	-1.4	-1.5	+3.4	+7.3	+.012	+1.4	+3.8	+.206	+0.6	+1.6	+.141
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	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
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2012-13	2011-12
Team	Sacramento Kings	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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	75	30.5	17.1	3.0	7.0	9.9	2.7	1.4	0.7	3.0	3.6	6.4	13.8	.465	0.1	0.3	.182	4.2	5.6	.738
difference:	+13	+0.9	+0.3	+2.5	+3.4	+5.8	+1.0	+0.4	+0.5	-0.8	-1.2	+1.4	+3.7	+.026	+1.7	+4.4	+.208	+0.8	+0.4	+.108
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	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
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2013-14	2012-13
Team	Sacramento Kings	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	71	32.4	22.7	3.1	8.6	11.7	2.9	1.5	1.3	3.5	3.8	8.3	16.8	.496	0.0	0.1	.000	6.1	8.4	.726
difference:	+7	+5.9	+3.2	+2.3	+4.5	+6.8	+2.9	+0.3	+0.8	-0.3	-1.5	+0.8	+0.3	+.058	+2.3	+6.1	+.368	+2.5	+1.8	+.125
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2014-15	2013-14
Team	Sacramento Kings	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	59	34.1	24.1	3.1	9.5	12.7	3.6	1.5	1.7	4.3	4.1	8.4	18.1	.467	0.0	0.1	.250	7.2	9.2	.782
difference:	+14	+3.9	+1.3	+2.3	+5.6	+8.0	+2.5	+0.1	+1.3	-0.7	-1.7	+0.9	+1.6	+.011	+2.4	+6.5	+.116	+0.7	+0.1	+.084
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2015-16	2014-15
Team	Sacramento Kings	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	65	34.6	26.9	2.4	9.1	11.5	3.3	1.6	1.4	3.8	3.6	9.2	20.5	.451	1.1	3.2	.333	7.3	10.2	.718
difference:	+16	+2.2	+0.5	+1.5	+4.4	+5.8	+3.7	+0.3	+0.7	-0.2	-1.0	+1.2	+2.4	+.011	+1.5	+3.7	+.042	+1.5		+.150
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2016-17	2015-16
Team	Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	72	34.2	27.0	2.1	8.9	11.0	4.6	1.4	1.3	3.7	3.9	9.0	19.9	.452	1.8	5.0	.361	7.2	9.3	.772
difference:	+10	+3.9	+2.0	+1.3	+3.6	+4.9	+2.9	+0.3	+0.7	-0.9	-1.1	+0.3	+0.2	+.013	+1.1	+3.0	+.002	+1.6	+0.9	+.088
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2017-18	2016-17
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	48	36.2	25.2	2.2	10.7	12.9	5.4	1.6	1.6	5.0	3.8	8.5	18.0	.470	2.2	6.1	.354	6.1	8.2	.746
difference:	+33	+0.2	+3.9	+1.0	+3.7	+4.8	+5.8	+0.1	+1.1	-0.7	-1.1	+0.2	+0.9	+.030	+1.0	+3.2	+.007	+3.1	+2.7	+.101
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2018-19	2017-18
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost NBA Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	30	25.7	16.3	1.4	6.8	8.2	3.6	1.3	1.5	2.4	3.6	5.9	12.4	.480	0.9	3.2	.274	3.5	4.8	.736
difference:	+42	+9.7	+14.1	+0.8	+2.0	+2.8	+5.2	+0.5	+0.8	-2.0	-1.3	+3.1	+7.7	+.031	+2.8	+6.8	+.093	+5.2	+5.3	+.122
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	8	16.6	7.6	1.1	3.8	4.9	2.4	0.6	0.8	2.4	3.0	2.6	6.6	.396	0.4	1.5	.250	2.0	3.1	.640
difference:	+9	+19.9	+21.0	+0.3	+0.6	+0.3	+4.4	+1.6	+0.2	-1.4	-0.3	+6.7	+16.0	+.014	+2.7	+8.7	+.049	+4.9	+4.7	+.247
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

Note: DeMarcus Cousins didn't play in 2019-20.


Season 10
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2020-21	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	41	17.4	8.9	1.3	5.1	6.4	1.9	0.8	0.6	1.6	2.6	3.2	7.4	.426	1.1	3.3	.348	1.4	2.0	.728
difference:	+37	+19.4	+27.2	+0.5	+0.7	+0.2	+5.6	+1.2	+0.1	-3.4	-0.5	+7.6	+17.1	+.016	+3.7	+9.9	+.020	+8.3	+9.0	+.151
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	7	8.3	7.6	0.9	1.1	2.0	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.7	1.9	2.7	6.0	.452	0.6	1.4	.400	1.6	2.0	.786
difference:	+4	+30.2	+24.0	+0.1	+4.9	+4.8	+5.9	+1.9	+0.5	-3.9	-1.8	+7.2	+18.0	+.039	+3.8	+11.1	+.050	+5.9	+6.9	+.051
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
	DeMarcus Cousins	James Harden
Season	2021-22	2019-20
Team	Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	48	14.9	9.0	1.5	4.1	5.6	1.5	0.7	0.4	1.8	2.9	3.1	6.8	.460	0.8	2.5	.303	2.0	2.6	.760
difference:	+20	+21.6	+25.3	+0.5	+1.4	+1.0	+6.0	+1.1	+0.5	-2.7	-0.4	+6.8	+15.5	+.016	+3.6	+9.9	+.052	+8.2	+9.2	+.105
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		%
DeMarcus Cousins	5	11.4	10.6	0.6	2.8	3.4	1.2	0.6	0.2	1.4	1.8	3.8	5.8	.655	0.8	1.2	.667	2.2	3.0	.733
difference:	+7	+25.9	+19.0	+0.4	+1.8	+2.2	+6.5	+0.9	+0.6	-2.4	-1.8	+5.3	+13.2	+.177	+2.5	+8.6	+.334	+6.0	+6.7	+.112
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


Additional Years
* James Harden played 5 seasons more than DeMarcus Cousins in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 16, from 2021 to 2025—James Harden played in 5 Playoffs. In those 5 extra years over DeMarcus Cousins, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Third Team 1 Assists Leader 3 All-Star Game

DeMarcus Cousins vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and DeMarcus Cousins, 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years