James Harden vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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, 1 more than J.R. Smith, who played 16. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while J.R. Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
J.R. Smith	16	12	2004-05 to 2019-20

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2009-10	2004-05
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	New Orleans Hornets
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:		+1.6	+0.4	+0.1	+1.1	+1.2	+0.1	+0.4	+0.2		-0.8	+0.8	+2.2	+.009	+0.1	+0.4	+.087	+1.1	+1.1	+.119
J.R. Smith	76	24.5	10.3	0.5	1.5	2.0	1.9	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.8	3.9	9.8	.394	1.1	3.7	.288	1.5	2.1	.689

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
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2010-11	2005-06
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
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:	+27	+8.7	+4.5	+0.2	+0.9	+1.1	+1.0	+0.4	+0.2	-0.3	-0.9	+1.0	+1.6	+.043	+0.5	+1.5	+.022	+2.0	+2.4	+.021
J.R. Smith	55	18.0	7.7	0.3	1.7	2.0	1.1	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.7	.393	0.9	2.5	.371	1.5	1.8	.822

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
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2011-12	2006-07
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets 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:	+1	+8.1	+3.8		+1.8	+1.8	+2.3	+0.2	+0.1	-0.9	-0.1	+0.5	+0.1	+.050	+0.6	+1.4		+3.4	+4.0	+.036
J.R. Smith	63	23.3	13.0	0.5	1.8	2.3	1.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.3	4.5	10.2	.441	2.4	6.1	.390	1.6	2.0	.810

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	+19.7	+11.8	+0.4	+2.5	+2.8	+2.9	+0.6	+0.2	-1.3	-1.9	+3.2	+5.2	+.162	+1.6	+0.9	+.410	+3.9	+4.8	+.143
J.R. Smith	4	11.8	4.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	0.5	1.0	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.5	5.5	.273	0.0	3.0	.000	1.5	1.5	1.000


Season 4
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2012-13	2007-08
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets 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:	+4	+19.1	+13.6	+0.2	+2.6	+2.8	+4.1	+1.0	+0.3	-2.3	-0.4	+3.3	+8.0	+.023	+0.2	+0.9	+.035	+6.9	+7.8	+.132
J.R. Smith	74	19.2	12.3	0.6	1.5	2.1	1.7	0.8	0.2	1.5	1.9	4.2	9.1	.461	2.1	5.3	.403	1.7	2.4	.719

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:	+2	+13.5	+8.0	+0.5	+4.3	+4.9	+2.7	+1.0	+1.0	-3.2		+1.7	+8.4	+.144	+0.7	+1.8	+.023	+3.8	+5.0	+.030
J.R. Smith	4	27.0	18.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.0	0.0	1.3	3.0	5.8	10.8	.535	1.8	5.5	.318	5.0	6.0	.833


Season 5
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2013-14	2008-09
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+8	+10.3	+10.2	+0.3	+0.8	+1.0	+3.3	+0.6	+0.2	-1.7	-0.1	+2.3	+4.8	+.010	+0.2	+1.0	+.031	+5.4	+5.7	+.112
J.R. Smith	81	27.7	15.2	0.5	3.1	3.7	2.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	2.3	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.6	.397	2.5	3.4	.754

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:	+10	+16.6	+11.9	+0.1	+1.2	+1.4	+3.0	+0.9	+0.1	-1.9	-0.3	+2.8	+10.1	+.078	+0.3	+2.4	+.062	+5.9	+5.4	+.357
J.R. Smith	16	27.2	14.9	0.7	2.6	3.3	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.6	3.2	5.5	12.1	.454	2.4	6.6	.358	1.6	2.9	.543


Season 6
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2014-15	2009-10
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Nuggets Lost West 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:	+6	+9.0	+12.0	+0.5	+2.0	+2.6	+4.6	+0.6	+0.4	-2.1	-0.3	+2.3	+4.3	+.026	+0.5	+0.7	+.037	+6.9	+7.5	+.162
J.R. Smith	75	27.8	15.4	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.8	.414	2.1	6.2	.338	1.9	2.7	.706

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:	+11	+10.9	+16.0	+0.1	+2.0	+1.9	+5.8	+0.9	+0.1	-3.5	-0.1	+4.1	+7.8	+.071	+0.6	+1.1	+.028	+7.3	+7.8	+.041
J.R. Smith	6	26.5	11.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	1.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.8	3.5	9.5	.368	1.8	5.2	.355	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 7
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2015-16	2010-11
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+3	+13.2	+16.7	+0.2	+1.8	+2.0	+5.3	+0.5	+0.4	-3.3	-0.6	+4.4	+9.8	+.004	+1.3	+4.0	+.031	+6.7	+7.4	+.122
J.R. Smith	79	24.9	12.3	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.2	1.2	0.2	1.3	2.2	4.3	9.9	.435	1.6	4.0	.390	2.1	2.8	.738

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:		+23.4	+16.8	+1.2	+2.0	+3.2	+6.6	+2.0	+0.2	-3.6	-1.0	+5.0	+11.0	+.054	+0.8	+4.2	+.119	+6.0	+6.8	+.117
J.R. Smith	5	15.2	9.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	1.0	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.2	9.0	.356	1.8	4.2	.429	1.6	2.2	.727


Season 8
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2016-17	2011-12
Team	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+46	+8.8	+16.6	+0.4	+3.9	+4.2	+8.8		+0.3	-4.4	-0.2	+3.6	+7.3	+.033	+1.3	+3.8		+8.1	+9.3	+.138
J.R. Smith	35	27.6	12.5	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.4	1.5	0.2	1.3	2.5	4.7	11.6	.407	1.9	5.5	.347	1.1	1.6	.709

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:	+6	+2.0	+16.3	+0.2	+2.6	+2.9	+6.3	+0.7	+0.3	-3.2	-0.1	+3.4	+4.6	+.097	+1.9	+4.9	+.099	+7.6	+8.9	+.122
J.R. Smith	5	35.0	12.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.2	3.8	4.8	15.2	.316	1.0	5.6	.179	1.6	1.6	1.000


Season 9
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2017-18	2012-13
Team	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+8	+1.9	+12.3	+0.2	+0.3	+0.1	+6.1	+0.5	+0.4	-2.7	-0.5	+2.4	+4.5	+.027	+1.8	+4.5	+.011	+5.7	+6.2	+.096
J.R. Smith	80	33.5	18.1	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	2.8	6.6	15.6	.422	1.9	5.5	.356	3.0	3.9	.762

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:	+6	+4.6	+14.3	+0.3	+0.2	+0.5	+5.4	+1.2	+0.1	-2.0	-0.2	+4.4	+7.8	+.079	+1.5	+4.2	+.026	+4.1	+3.9	+.166
J.R. Smith	11	31.9	14.3	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.8	2.5	4.9	14.8	.331	1.6	6.0	.273	2.8	3.9	.721


Season 10
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2018-19	2013-14
Team	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+4	+4.1	+21.6	+0.3	+2.3	+2.6	+4.5	+1.1	+0.4	-3.5	-0.5	+5.4	+11.6	+.027	+2.2	+6.7	+.026	+8.5	+9.1	+.227
J.R. Smith	74	32.7	14.5	0.5	3.5	4.0	3.0	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.6	5.4	12.9	.415	2.6	6.5	.394	1.2	1.9	.652

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
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2019-20	2014-15
Team	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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11th 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	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
difference:	+2	+6.8	+22.2	+0.6	+2.8	+3.5	+4.7	+0.6	+0.6	-3.1	-1.0	+5.4	+11.5	+.027	+2.1	+6.3	+.028	+9.4	+10.8	+.115
J.R. Smith	70	29.7	12.1	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.4	2.3	4.5	10.8	.417	2.3	6.1	.383	0.8	1.0	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+6	+6.2	+16.8	+0.5	+0.4	+0.9	+6.5	+0.6	+0.2	-3.0	-0.6	+4.5	+7.6	+.075	+0.5	+1.9	+.026	+7.4	+8.6	+.145
J.R. Smith	18	31.1	12.8	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.2	0.9	0.6	0.8	3.0	4.6	11.4	.403	2.8	7.9	.359	0.8	1.1	.700


Season 12
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2020-21	2015-16
Team	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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12th 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	44	36.6	24.6	0.8	7.1	7.9	10.8	1.2	0.8	4.0	2.3	7.8	16.7	.466	2.8	7.6	.362	6.3	7.3	.861
difference:	+33	+5.9	+12.2	+0.2	+4.8	+5.1	+9.1	+0.1	+0.5	-3.2	-0.3	+3.2	+5.7	+.051	+0.2	+1.0	+.038	+5.7	+6.4	+.227
J.R. Smith	77	30.7	12.4	0.6	2.3	2.8	1.7	1.1	0.3	0.8	2.6	4.6	11.0	.415	2.6	6.6	.400	0.6	0.9	.634

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	9	35.8	20.2	0.8	5.6	6.3	8.6	1.7	0.7	2.9	2.6	5.7	12.0	.472	2.7	7.3	.364	6.2	6.9	.903
difference:	+12	+1.0	+8.7	+0.5	+2.7	+3.1	+7.2	+0.5	+0.5	-2.4		+1.8	+3.0	+.036	+0.4	+0.1	+.066	+5.6	+5.9	+.284
J.R. Smith	21	34.8	11.5	0.3	2.9	3.2	1.4	1.2	0.2	0.5	2.6	3.9	9.0	.436	3.1	7.2	.430	0.6	1.0	.619


Season 13
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2021-22	2016-17
Team	Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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13th 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	65	37.2	22.0	0.8	6.8	7.7	10.3	1.3	0.6	4.4	2.4	6.3	15.3	.410	2.3	6.9	.330	7.2	8.2	.877
difference:	+24	+8.2	+13.4	+0.4	+4.5	+4.9	+8.8	+0.3	+0.3	-3.8	-0.5	+3.3	+6.6	+.064		+0.3	+.021	+7.0	+7.8	+.210
J.R. Smith	41	29.0	8.6	0.4	2.3	2.8	1.5	1.0	0.3	0.6	1.9	3.0	8.7	.346	2.3	6.6	.351	0.2	0.4	.667

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	12	39.9	18.6	0.9	4.8	5.7	8.6	0.8	0.7	4.2	2.4	5.3	13.2	.405	2.3	6.3	.368	5.6	6.3	.893
difference:	+6	+12.8	+10.5	+0.6	+2.7	+3.4	+7.9	+0.1	+0.4	-3.5	-0.1	+2.5	+7.7	+.100	+0.1	+1.9	+.132	+5.3	+5.7	+.438
J.R. Smith	18	27.1	8.1	0.3	2.1	2.3	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.3	2.8	5.5	.505	2.2	4.4	.500	0.3	0.6	.455


Season 14
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2022-23	2017-18
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Assists Leader	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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14th 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	58	36.8	21.0	0.7	5.4	6.1	10.7	1.2	0.5	3.4	1.9	6.4	14.5	.441	2.8	7.2	.385	5.4	6.2	.867
difference:	+22	+8.7	+12.7	+0.3	+2.8	+3.2	+8.9	+0.3	+0.4	-2.4	-0.1	+3.4	+7.1	+.038	+1.0	+2.4	+.010	+4.9	+5.5	+.171
J.R. Smith	80	28.1	8.3	0.4	2.6	2.9	1.8	0.9	0.1	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.4	.403	1.8	4.8	.375	0.5	0.7	.696

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	11	38.8	20.3	0.5	5.6	6.2	8.3	1.8	0.4	3.2	2.5	6.5	16.6	.393	2.8	7.5	.378	4.4	5.0	.873
difference:	+11	+6.7	+11.6		+3.3	+3.5	+7.2	+0.8	+0.2	-2.3		+3.5	+8.1	+.045	+0.8	+2.0	+.011	+3.6	+4.0	+.100
J.R. Smith	22	32.1	8.7	0.5	2.3	2.7	1.1	1.0	0.2	0.9	2.5	3.0	8.5	.348	2.0	5.5	.367	0.8	1.0	.773


Season 15
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2023-24	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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15th 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	34.3	16.6	0.5	4.7	5.1	8.5	1.1	0.8	2.6	1.8	4.9	11.4	.428	2.6	6.8	.381	4.2	4.8	.878
difference:	+61	+14.1	+9.9	+0.5	+3.1	+3.5	+6.6	+0.1	+0.5	-1.6	-0.1	+2.4	+4.2	+.086	+1.5	+3.3	+.073	+3.5	+3.9	+.078
J.R. Smith	11	20.2	6.7	0.0	1.6	1.6	1.9	1.0	0.3	1.0	1.7	2.5	7.2	.342	1.1	3.5	.308	0.7	0.9	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	6	40.3	21.2	0.5	4.0	4.5	8.0	1.0	1.0	2.3	2.2	6.7	14.8	.449	3.0	7.8	.383	4.8	5.3	.906
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	James Harden	J.R. Smith
Season	2024-25	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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16th 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	79	35.3	22.8	0.7	5.1	5.8	8.7	1.5	0.7	4.3	2.1	6.7	16.4	.410	3.0	8.5	.352	6.4	7.3	.874
difference:	+73	+22.1	+20.0	+0.7	+4.3	+5.0	+8.2	+1.3	+0.7	-3.6	-1.3	+5.5	+12.7	+.092	+2.8	+6.7	+.261	+6.1	+7.0	+.126
J.R. Smith	6	13.2	2.8	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.7	0.8	1.2	3.7	.318	0.2	1.8	.091	0.3	0.3	1.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	7	39.4	18.7	0.6	4.9	5.4	9.1	1.3	1.0	3.0	2.3	6.3	14.4	.436	2.3	6.3	.364	3.9	4.7	.818
difference:	+3	+31.9	+16.7	+0.6	+4.6	+5.1	+8.8	+1.1	+1.0	-2.3	-1.2	+5.6	+11.8	+.167	+1.7	+4.1	+.091	+3.9	+4.7
J.R. Smith	10	7.5	2.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.1	0.7	2.6	.269	0.6	2.2	.273	0.0	0.0	-

Additional Years

* James Harden played 1 season more than J.R. Smith in the NBA.

In that period—his season 17 in 2026—James Harden didn't play in the postseason.

James Harden vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Season 14

14th Season Stats Comparison

Season 15

15th Season Stats Comparison

Season 16

16th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years