James Harden vs. Donovan Mitchell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, 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.

James Harden played 16 years in the NBA, 8 more than Donovan Mitchell, who played 8. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Donovan Mitchell had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
James Harden	16	16	2009-10 to 2024-25
Donovan Mitchell	8	8	2017-18 to 2024-25

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


Rookie Season
	James Harden	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2009-10	2017-18
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
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
difference:	+3	+10.5	+10.6	+0.1	+0.5	+0.5	+1.9	+0.4		-1.3	-0.1	+4.4	+9.6	+.034	+1.2	+3.7	+.035	+0.4	+0.6	+.003
Donovan Mitchell	79	33.4	20.5	0.7	3.1	3.7	3.7	1.5	0.3	2.7	2.7	7.5	17.2	.437	2.4	7.0	.340	3.0	3.8	.805

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+5	+17.4	+16.7	+0.6	+2.8	+3.4	+2.4	+0.5	+0.2	-2.4	-0.9	+7.3	+16.9	+.033	+1.3	+4.6	+.062	+0.8	+0.7	+.065
Donovan Mitchell	11	37.4	24.4	0.8	5.1	5.9	4.2	1.5	0.4	2.9	3.2	9.3	22.1	.420	2.3	7.3	.313	3.5	3.9	.907


Season 2
	James Harden	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2010-11	2018-19
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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
difference:	+5	+7.0	+11.6	+0.3	+0.7	+1.0	+2.1	+0.3	+0.1	-1.5	-0.2	+5.0	+11.6	+.004	+1.0	+2.7	+.013	+0.6	+0.9	+.037
Donovan Mitchell	77	33.7	23.8	0.8	3.3	4.1	4.2	1.4	0.4	2.8	2.7	8.6	19.9	.432	2.4	6.7	.362	4.1	5.1	.806

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+12	+7.0	+8.4	+0.8	+1.2	+0.4	+0.4	+0.4	+0.6	-2.6	-0.2	+3.3	+14.2	+.154	+0.8	+4.1	+.047	+0.9	+1.9	+.098
Donovan Mitchell	5	38.6	21.4	1.4	3.6	5.0	3.2	1.6	0.2	4.2	3.0	7.2	22.4	.321	2.2	8.6	.256	4.8	6.6	.727


Season 3
	James Harden	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2011-12	2019-20
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+7	+2.9	+7.2	+0.3		+0.3	+0.6			-0.5	-0.1	+3.7	+9.3	+.042	+0.7	+2.2	+.024	+1.0	+1.3	+.017
Donovan Mitchell	69	34.3	24.0	0.8	3.6	4.4	4.3	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.5	8.7	19.4	.449	2.5	6.9	.366	4.0	4.7	.863

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+13	+6.2	+20.0	+0.2	+0.4	+0.1	+1.5	+0.6	+0.2	-2.0	-1.8	+7.2	+11.7	+.094	+3.1	+5.2	+.106	+2.5	+2.0	+.091
Donovan Mitchell	7	37.7	36.3	0.9	4.1	5.0	4.9	1.0	0.3	4.1	1.6	11.9	22.4	.529	4.7	9.1	.516	7.9	8.3	.948


Season 4
	James Harden	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2012-13	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+25	+4.9	+0.5	+0.1	+0.6	+0.5	+0.6	+0.8	+0.2	-1.0	-0.1	+1.5	+3.5		+1.1	+2.5	+.018	+3.6	+4.2	+.006
Donovan Mitchell	53	33.4	26.4	0.9	3.5	4.4	5.2	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.2	9.0	20.6	.438	3.4	8.7	.386	5.0	6.0	.845

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+4	+5.9	+6.0	+0.5	+1.9	+2.5	+1.0	+0.9	+0.8	-1.7	-1.0	+3.0	+4.3	+.056	+2.5	+4.2	+.094	+2.5	+3.4	+.026
Donovan Mitchell	10	34.6	32.3	0.3	3.9	4.2	5.5	1.1	0.2	2.8	2.0	10.5	23.5	.447	5.0	11.5	.435	6.3	7.6	.829


Season 5
	James Harden	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2013-14	2021-22
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+6	+4.2	+0.5		+0.5	+0.5	+0.8	+0.1	+0.2	-0.6		+1.7	+4.0	+.008	+1.1	+3.2	+.011	+3.9	+4.4	+.013
Donovan Mitchell	67	33.8	25.9	0.8	3.4	4.2	5.3	1.5	0.2	3.0	2.4	9.2	20.5	.448	3.5	9.8	.355	4.0	4.7	.853

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:		+5.6	+1.3	+0.2	+0.5	+0.4	+0.1	+1.3	+0.3	-0.8	-1.2	+0.5		+.022	+1.0	+1.0	+.088	+1.3	+1.3	+.019
Donovan Mitchell	6	38.2	25.5	1.0	3.3	4.3	5.7	0.7	0.5	2.7	2.3	8.8	22.2	.398	1.7	8.0	.208	6.2	7.0	.881


Season 6
	James Harden	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2014-15	2022-23
Team	Houston Rockets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+13	+1.0	+0.9		+1.4	+1.4	+2.6	+0.4	+0.3	-1.4	-0.1	+2.0	+2.5	+.044	+1.0	+2.4	+.011	+4.1	+4.8	+.001
Donovan Mitchell	68	35.8	28.3	0.9	3.3	4.3	4.4	1.5	0.4	2.6	2.5	10.0	20.6	.484	3.6	9.3	.386	4.7	5.4	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+12	+4.0	+4.0	+0.1	+0.6	+0.7	+0.3	+0.4	+0.2	-0.7	-0.1	+1.4	+3.5	+.006	+0.2	+2.7	+.094	+7.0	+6.9	+.194
Donovan Mitchell	5	41.4	23.2	0.6	4.4	5.0	7.2	2.0	0.6	3.8	2.8	9.0	20.8	.433	2.6	9.0	.289	2.6	3.6	.722


Season 7
	James Harden	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2015-16	2023-24
Team	Houston Rockets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+27	+2.8	+2.4		+1.0	+1.0	+1.4	+0.1	+0.1	-1.8	-0.7	+0.4	+0.1	+.023	+0.4	+1.0	+.009	+3.8	+4.4	+.005
Donovan Mitchell	55	35.3	26.6	0.8	4.3	5.1	6.1	1.8	0.5	2.8	2.1	9.1	19.8	.462	3.3	9.0	.368	5.0	5.8	.865

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+5	+0.4	+3.0	+0.8	+1.0	+0.2	+2.9	+1.1	+0.1	-2.4	-0.3	+2.5	+2.5	+.066	+0.3	+0.2	+.044	+2.3	+2.5	+.029
Donovan Mitchell	10	38.2	29.6	0.6	4.8	5.4	4.7	1.3	0.3	2.8	2.9	10.7	22.5	.476	2.9	8.2	.354	5.3	6.5	.815


Season 8
	James Harden	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2016-17	2024-25
Team	Houston Rockets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+10	+5.0	+5.1	+0.4	+3.3	+3.6	+6.2	+0.2	+0.3	-3.6	-0.7	+0.1	+0.3	+.003	+0.1	+0.4	+.021	+5.0	+5.8	+.024
Donovan Mitchell	71	31.4	24.0	0.8	3.7	4.5	5.0	1.3	0.2	2.1	2.0	8.2	18.6	.443	3.3	8.9	.368	4.2	5.1	.823

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+2	+5.0	+1.1	+0.6	+1.4	+0.8	+4.6		+0.2	-3.5	-1.9	+1.4	+1.8	+.030	+0.2	+1.2	+.055	+1.9	+0.6	+.136
Donovan Mitchell	9	32.0	29.6	1.2	3.4	4.7	3.9	1.9	0.3	1.9	2.0	9.6	21.6	.443	3.1	9.3	.333	7.3	9.9	.742


Additional Years
* James Harden played 8 seasons more than Donovan Mitchell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 16, from 2018 to 2025—James Harden played in 8 Playoffs. In those 8 extra years over Donovan Mitchell, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 Scoring Leader 1 Assists Leader 6 All-Star Game

James Harden vs. Donovan Mitchell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, 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

Additional Years