James Harden vs. Fred VanVleet Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Fred VanVleet 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 17 years in the NBA, 8 more than Fred VanVleet, who played 9. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Fred VanVleet had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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	17	16	2009-10 to 2025-26
Fred VanVleet	9	6	2016-17 to 2024-25

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


Rookie Season
	James Harden	Fred VanVleet
Season	2009-10	2016-17
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Raptors Lost East 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:	+39	+15.0	+7.0	+0.5	+1.6	+2.1	+0.9	+0.7	+0.2	-1.0	-1.6	+2.0	+4.6	+.052	+0.9	+2.5	+.004	+2.1	+2.6	+.010
Fred VanVleet	37	7.9	2.9	0.1	1.0	1.1	0.9	0.4	0.1	0.4	1.0	1.1	3.0	.351	0.3	0.8	.379	0.5	0.6	.818

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:	+1	+15.9	+5.7	+0.2	+2.2	+2.4	+1.2	+0.9	+0.2	-0.4	-1.9	+1.1	+3.9	+.280	+0.7	+2.0	+.025	+2.7	+3.2
Fred VanVleet	7	4.1	2.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.4	0.9	1.3	.667	0.3	0.7	.400	0.0	0.0	-


Season 2
	James Harden	Fred VanVleet
Season	2010-11	2017-18
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+6	+6.7	+3.6	+0.2	+0.5	+0.7	+1.1	+0.2		-0.3	-0.8	+0.5	+1.1	+.010		+0.6	+.065	+2.4	+2.9	+.011
Fred VanVleet	76	20.0	8.6	0.3	2.1	2.4	3.2	0.9	0.3	1.0	1.7	3.1	7.2	.426	1.4	3.4	.414	1.1	1.3	.832

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:	+11	+12.6	+6.2	+0.6	+3.1	+3.7	+1.4	+1.2	+0.8	-0.9	-1.5	+1.7	+1.7	+.142	+0.1	+0.2	+.017	+2.7	+3.4	+.050
Fred VanVleet	6	19.0	6.8	0.0	1.7	1.7	2.2	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	2.2	6.5	.333	1.3	4.7	.286	1.2	1.3	.875


Season 3
	James Harden	Fred VanVleet
Season	2011-12	2018-19
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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:	+2	+3.9	+5.8	+0.2	+1.3	+1.5	+1.1	+0.1	+0.1	-0.9	-0.7	+1.2	+0.7	+.081		+0.1	+.012	+3.5	+4.2	+.003
Fred VanVleet	64	27.5	11.0	0.3	2.3	2.6	4.8	0.9	0.3	1.3	1.7	3.8	9.4	.410	1.8	4.6	.378	1.5	1.8	.843

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:	+4	+6.8	+8.3	+0.4	+3.1	+3.4	+0.8	+0.8	+0.2	-1.2	-1.4	+2.0	+3.8	+.043		+0.2	+.022	+4.4	+5.0	+.083
Fred VanVleet	24	24.7	8.0	0.3	1.4	1.7	2.6	0.8	0.3	0.9	2.0	2.7	6.9	.392	1.6	4.1	.388	1.0	1.3	.774


Season 4
	James Harden	Fred VanVleet
Season	2012-13	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Raptors Lost East 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:	+24	+2.6	+8.3	+0.5	+0.7	+1.1	+0.8	+0.1	+0.2	-1.6	-0.1	+1.6	+2.8	+.025	+0.4	+0.7	+.022	+5.5	+6.5	+.003
Fred VanVleet	54	35.7	17.6	0.3	3.4	3.8	6.6	1.9	0.3	2.2	2.4	5.9	14.3	.413	2.7	6.9	.390	3.1	3.7	.848

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:	+5	+1.4	+6.7	+0.3	+1.9	+2.3	+2.4	+0.4	+0.4	-2.5	-0.5	+0.6	+1.9	+.009	+1.4	+2.7	+.050	+6.9	+8.7	+.037
Fred VanVleet	11	39.1	19.6	0.5	3.9	4.4	6.9	1.6	0.6	2.0	2.5	6.9	17.3	.400	3.9	10.0	.391	1.9	2.3	.840


Season 5
	James Harden	Fred VanVleet
Season	2013-14	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+21	+1.5	+5.8	+0.2	+0.3	+0.5	+0.2	+0.1	+0.3	-1.8	-0.1	+1.0	+0.2	+.067	+0.9	+2.6		+4.6	+5.4	+.019
Fred VanVleet	52	36.5	19.6	0.6	3.6	4.2	6.3	1.7	0.7	1.8	2.3	6.5	16.7	.389	3.3	9.2	.366	3.3	3.7	.885

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
Fred VanVleet	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	James Harden	Fred VanVleet
Season	2014-15	2021-22
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Raptors 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:	+16	+1.1	+7.1	+0.2	+0.9	+1.3	+0.3	+0.2	+0.2	-1.4	-0.1	+1.2	+1.2	+.037	+1.1	+3.0	+.002	+5.8	+6.8	+.006
Fred VanVleet	65	37.9	20.3	0.7	3.8	4.4	6.7	1.7	0.5	2.6	2.5	6.8	16.9	.403	3.7	9.9	.377	3.0	3.4	.874

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:	+13	+2.4	+13.4	+0.2	+2.5	+2.7	+1.2	+0.2	+0.6	-3.5	-0.1	+2.8	+3.8	+.087	+0.6	+2.7	+.050	+8.3	+9.0	+.083
Fred VanVleet	4	35.0	13.8	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.3	1.8	1.0	1.0	3.0	4.8	13.5	.352	3.0	9.0	.333	1.3	1.5	.833


Season 7
	James Harden	Fred VanVleet
Season	2015-16	2022-23
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+13	+1.4	+9.7	+0.4	+1.7	+2.0	+0.3	+0.1		-2.6		+2.4	+3.6	+.046	+0.1	+0.8	+.017	+5.1	+6.1	+.038
Fred VanVleet	69	36.7	19.3	0.4	3.6	4.1	7.2	1.8	0.6	2.0	2.8	6.3	16.1	.393	3.0	8.8	.342	3.7	4.1	.898

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
Fred VanVleet	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	James Harden	Fred VanVleet
Season	2016-17	2023-24
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+8	+0.4	+11.7	+0.7	+3.6	+4.3	+3.1	+0.1	+0.3	-4.0	-0.2	+2.5	+5.0	+.024	+0.1	+1.3	+.040	+6.5	+7.8	+.013
Fred VanVleet	73	36.8	17.4	0.5	3.4	3.8	8.1	1.4	0.8	1.7	2.5	5.8	13.9	.416	3.1	8.0	.387	2.7	3.1	.860

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
Fred VanVleet	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	James Harden	Fred VanVleet
Season	2017-18	2024-25
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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9th 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	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
difference:	+12	+0.2	+16.3	+0.1	+1.6	+1.7	+3.2	+0.2	+0.3	-2.9		+4.2	+7.4	+.071	+1.0	+2.3	+.022	+6.8	+7.8	+.048
Fred VanVleet	60	35.2	14.1	0.5	3.2	3.7	5.6	1.6	0.4	1.5	2.3	4.8	12.7	.378	2.7	7.7	.345	1.9	2.3	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+10	+3.5	+9.9	+0.4	+0.7	+1.1	+2.4	+1.2	+0.3	-1.9	-0.4	+3.6	+9.3	+.020	+0.8	+1.3	+.136	+3.5	+4.4	+.113
Fred VanVleet	7	40.0	18.7	0.4	3.7	4.1	4.4	1.0	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.3	.430	3.9	8.9	.435	3.4	3.4	1.000


Additional Years
* James Harden played 8 seasons more than Fred VanVleet in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 17, from 2019 to 2026—James Harden played in 7 Playoffs. In those 8 extra years over Fred VanVleet, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 2 Scoring Leader 1 Assists Leader 5 All-Star Game

James Harden vs. Fred VanVleet Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Fred VanVleet 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

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years