James Harden vs. Jakob Poeltl Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jakob Poeltl 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 / 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, 7 more than Jakob Poeltl, who played 10. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Jakob Poeltl 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
Jakob Poeltl	10	3	2016-17 to 2025-26

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


Rookie Season
	James Harden	Jakob Poeltl
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:	+22	+11.3	+6.8	+0.8	+1.0	+0.1	+1.6	+0.8	+0.1	-0.9	-0.5	+1.9	+5.5	+.180	+1.2	+3.3		+2.0	+2.1	+.264
Jakob Poeltl	54	11.6	3.1	1.4	1.6	3.1	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.5	2.1	1.2	2.1	.583	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.1	.544

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:		+15.7	+6.0	+0.8	+1.3	+0.5	+1.8	+0.8		-0.5	-1.8	+1.2	+3.4	+.068	+1.0	+2.7		+2.7	+2.9	+.842
Jakob Poeltl	6	4.3	1.7	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.5	0.8	1.8	.455	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.3	.000


Season 2
	James Harden	Jakob Poeltl
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:		+8.1	+5.3	+1.5	+0.2	+1.7	+1.4	+0.6	+0.9	-0.3	-0.1	+0.5	+3.6	+.223	+1.4	+4.0		+2.8	+3.0	+.249
Jakob Poeltl	82	18.6	6.9	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.7	0.5	1.2	1.0	2.6	3.1	4.7	.659	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.2	.594

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:	+8	+16.0	+7.6	+1.1	+2.5	+1.4	+2.9	+0.9	+0.4	-0.7		+2.0	+4.8	+.073	+1.4	+4.4	+.303	+2.2	+2.6	+.036
Jakob Poeltl	9	15.6	5.4	1.7	2.3	4.0	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.9	2.8	1.9	3.4	.548	0.0	0.1	.000	1.7	2.1	.789


Season 3
	James Harden	Jakob Poeltl
Season	2011-12	2018-19
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Spurs 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:	+15	+14.9	+11.3	+1.8	+0.6	+1.2	+2.5	+0.6	+0.7	-1.6	-0.8	+2.6	+6.3	+.154	+1.8	+4.7		+4.4	+4.8	+.313
Jakob Poeltl	77	16.5	5.5	2.3	3.0	5.3	1.2	0.4	0.9	0.6	1.6	2.4	3.8	.645	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.2	.533

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	+9.0	+2.9	+0.4	+2.6	+1.7	+1.3	+0.6	-1.7	-0.3	+1.4	+5.6	+.204	+1.6	+3.8	+.410	+4.7	+5.0	+.301
Jakob Poeltl	7	25.3	7.3	3.6	4.1	7.7	1.7	0.3	0.7	0.4	3.7	3.3	5.1	.639	0.0	0.1	.000	0.7	1.3	.556


Season 4
	James Harden	Jakob Poeltl
Season	2012-13	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+12	+20.6	+20.3	+1.2	+0.4	+0.8	+4.0	+1.2	+0.9	-3.0	-0.4	+5.0	+13.1	+.186	+2.3	+6.2		+8.0	+8.9	+.386
Jakob Poeltl	66	17.7	5.6	2.0	3.7	5.7	1.8	0.6	1.4	0.8	1.9	2.5	4.0	.624	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.3	.465

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
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	James Harden	Jakob Poeltl
Season	2013-14	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs
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:	+4	+11.3	+16.8	+2.4	+0.9	+3.2	+4.2	+0.9	+1.4	-2.4	-0.1	+3.7	+10.3	+.160	+2.4	+6.6		+7.0	+7.3	+.358
Jakob Poeltl	69	26.7	8.6	3.2	4.8	7.9	1.9	0.7	1.8	1.2	2.5	3.8	6.2	.616	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.8	.508

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
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	James Harden	Jakob Poeltl
Season	2014-15	2021-22
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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	+7.8	+13.9	+3.0	+0.8	+3.6	+4.2	+1.2	+1.0	-2.4	-0.5	+2.0	+8.3	+.178	+2.6	+6.9		+7.4	+7.4	+.373
Jakob Poeltl	68	29.0	13.5	3.9	5.5	9.3	2.8	0.7	1.7	1.6	3.1	6.0	9.8	.618	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.8	.495

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
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	James Harden	Jakob Poeltl
Season	2015-16	2022-23
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs, 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:	+10	+11.6	+16.5	+2.5	+0.5	+3.0	+4.8	+0.8	+0.6	-2.9	-0.1	+3.3	+11.1	+.190	+2.9	+8.0		+7.1	+7.4	+.268
Jakob Poeltl	72	26.5	12.5	3.3	5.8	9.1	2.7	0.9	1.2	1.7	2.7	5.4	8.6	.629	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.8	.592

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
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


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

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		%
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:	+31	+10.0	+18.0	+1.7	+1.3	+0.5	+8.7	+0.8	+1.0	-4.2	-0.3	+3.3	+11.3	+.216	+3.2	+9.3		+8.0	+8.8	+.296
Jakob Poeltl	50	26.4	11.1	2.9	5.7	8.6	2.5	0.7	1.5	1.5	3.0	5.0	7.6	.656	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	2.1	.551

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
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	James Harden	Jakob Poeltl
Season	2017-18	2024-25
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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		%
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:	+15	+5.8	+15.9	+2.7	+1.5	+4.2	+6.0	+0.6	+0.5	-2.5	-0.8	+2.6	+9.9	+.178	+3.7	+9.9	+.034	+7.0	+7.6	+.184
Jakob Poeltl	57	29.6	14.5	3.3	6.3	9.6	2.8	1.2	1.2	1.9	3.1	6.4	10.2	.627	0.0	0.1	.333	1.7	2.5	.674

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
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	James Harden	Jakob Poeltl
Season	2018-19	2025-26
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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		%
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
difference:	+73	+14.4	+29.3	+1.8	+2.4	+0.6	+5.7	+1.8	+0.3	-3.4	-1.1	+7.4	+18.9	+.165	+4.8	+13.2		+9.7	+10.0	+.879
Jakob Poeltl	5	22.4	6.8	2.6	3.4	6.0	1.8	0.2	0.4	1.6	4.2	3.4	5.6	.607	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	1.0	.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* James Harden played 7 seasons more than Jakob Poeltl in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 17, from 2020 to 2026—James Harden played in 6 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Jakob Poeltl, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 1 Scoring Leader 1 Assists Leader 4 All-Star Game

James Harden vs. Jakob Poeltl Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jakob Poeltl 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

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years