James Harden vs. Jeremy Lin Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jeremy Lin 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 / 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, 7 more than Jeremy Lin, who played 9. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Jeremy Lin had his rookie season in 2010-11. 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
Jeremy Lin	9	4	2010-11 to 2018-19

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


Rookie Season
	James Harden	Jeremy Lin
Season	2009-10	2010-11
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+47	+13.1	+7.3	+0.2	+1.8	+2.0	+0.4			-0.8	-1.5	+2.1	+5.1	+.014	+1.2	+3.1	+.175	+1.9	+2.3	+.048
Jeremy Lin	29	9.8	2.6	0.4	0.8	1.2	1.4	1.1	0.3	0.6	1.1	1.0	2.5	.389	0.0	0.2	.200	0.7	0.9	.760

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
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	James Harden	Jeremy Lin
Season	2010-11	2011-12
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+47	+0.2	+2.4		+0.1		+4.1	+0.5		-2.3	-0.3	+1.3	+2.6	+.010	+0.7	+1.9	+.029	+0.7	+1.0	+.045
Jeremy Lin	35	26.9	14.6	0.5	2.5	3.1	6.2	1.6	0.3	3.6	2.2	4.9	10.9	.446	0.7	2.1	.320	4.2	5.2	.798

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
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	James Harden	Jeremy Lin
Season	2011-12	2012-13
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Rockets 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:	+20	+0.8	+3.4	+0.1	+1.0	+1.1	+2.4	+0.6	+0.2	-0.7	-0.1	+0.2	+0.8	+.050	+0.7	+1.6	+.051	+2.4	+2.6	+.061
Jeremy Lin	82	32.2	13.4	0.4	2.6	3.0	6.1	1.6	0.4	2.9	2.5	4.8	10.9	.441	1.1	3.1	.339	2.6	3.4	.785

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:	+16	+10.5	+12.3	+0.7	+2.5	+3.1	+1.4	+1.1	+0.2	-0.1	-1.1	+3.2	+4.7	+.185	+1.1	+0.9	+.243	+4.9	+5.8	+.143
Jeremy Lin	4	21.0	4.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	1.5	6.0	.250	0.5	3.0	.167	0.5	0.5	1.000


Season 4
	James Harden	Jeremy Lin
Season	2012-13	2013-14
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+7	+9.4	+13.4	+0.3	+1.9	+2.3	+1.7	+0.8	+0.1	-1.3		+3.3	+7.8	+.008	+1.1	+3.0	+.010	+5.5	+6.5	+.028
Jeremy Lin	71	28.9	12.5	0.5	2.2	2.6	4.1	1.0	0.4	2.5	2.3	4.2	9.3	.446	1.2	3.2	.358	3.1	3.7	.823

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:		+11.0	+15.0	+0.4	+3.3	+3.0	+0.2	+1.5	+0.8	-2.3	-0.5	+3.3	+9.0	+.019	+1.7	+3.5	+.124	+6.6	+8.3	+.010
Jeremy Lin	6	29.5	11.3	1.2	2.5	3.7	4.3	0.5	0.2	2.2	2.5	4.2	10.2	.410	0.8	3.8	.217	2.2	2.7	.813


Season 5
	James Harden	Jeremy Lin
Season	2013-14	2014-15
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
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:	+1	+12.2	+14.2	+0.4	+1.6	+2.1	+1.5	+0.5		-1.4	-0.2	+3.8	+7.7	+.032	+1.5	+4.2	+.003	+5.0	+5.5	+.071
Jeremy Lin	74	25.8	11.2	0.4	2.3	2.6	4.6	1.1	0.4	2.2	2.6	3.7	8.8	.424	0.9	2.4	.369	2.9	3.6	.795

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
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	James Harden	Jeremy Lin
Season	2014-15	2015-16
Team	Houston Rockets	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Hornets 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:	+3	+10.5	+15.7	+0.4	+2.0	+2.5	+4.0	+1.2	+0.2	-2.1	-0.5	+4.2	+8.8	+.028	+1.6	+4.0	+.039	+5.7	+6.5	+.053
Jeremy Lin	78	26.3	11.7	0.5	2.7	3.2	3.0	0.7	0.5	1.9	2.1	3.8	9.3	.412	1.0	2.9	.336	3.1	3.7	.815

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:	+10	+10.4	+14.8	+0.3	+3.1	+3.4	+4.9	+0.9	+0.4	-2.9	-0.1	+3.9	+8.3	+.026	+2.0	+4.3	+.169	+5.0	+4.9	+.095
Jeremy Lin	7	27.0	12.4	0.4	1.9	2.3	2.6	0.7	0.0	1.6	3.0	3.7	9.0	.413	0.4	2.0	.214	4.6	5.6	.821


Season 7
	James Harden	Jeremy Lin
Season	2015-16	2016-17
Team	Houston Rockets	Brooklyn Nets
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:	+46	+13.6	+14.5	+0.5	+1.9	+2.3	+2.4	+0.5	+0.2	-2.2	-0.6	+3.8	+8.6	+.001	+1.3	+3.7	+.013	+5.6	+6.3	+.044
Jeremy Lin	36	24.5	14.5	0.3	3.4	3.8	5.1	1.2	0.4	2.4	2.2	4.9	11.1	.438	1.6	4.3	.372	3.2	3.9	.816

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
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	James Harden	Jeremy Lin
Season	2016-17	2017-18
Team	Houston Rockets	Brooklyn Nets
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:	+80	+11.4	+11.1	+1.2	+7.0	+8.1	+7.2	+1.5	+0.5	-2.7	-0.3	+3.3	+6.9	+.023	+2.2	+7.3	+.153	+2.2	+3.9	+.153
Jeremy Lin	1	25.0	18.0	0.0	0.0	0	4.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.0	5.0	12.0	.417	1.0	2.0	.500	7.0	7.0	1.000

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
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	James Harden	Jeremy Lin
Season	2017-18	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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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:	+2	+16.0	+20.8	+0.3	+2.7	+3.0	+5.7	+1.2	+0.5	-2.7	-0.4	+5.8	+12.8	+.009	+3.0	+7.5	+.073	+6.3	+7.3	+.020
Jeremy Lin	74	19.4	9.6	0.3	2.1	2.4	3.1	0.6	0.2	1.7	1.9	3.2	7.3	.440	0.7	2.5	.294	2.4	2.8	.838

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:	+9	+33.1	+27.5	+0.8	+4.0	+4.8	+6.3	+2.1	+0.6	-3.2	-2.4	+9.0	+21.5	+.188	+3.0	+9.9	+.201	+6.4	+7.3	+.113
Jeremy Lin	8	3.4	1.1	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.1	0.0	0.6	0.3	0.3	1.1	.222	0.1	0.3	.500	0.5	0.5	1.000


Additional Years
* James Harden played 7 seasons more than Jeremy Lin in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 16, from 2019 to 2025—James Harden played in 7 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Jeremy Lin, 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. Jeremy Lin Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jeremy Lin 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