James Harden vs. Lance Stephenson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lance Stephenson 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.

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, 6 more than Lance Stephenson, who played 10. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Lance Stephenson 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.

Rookie Season
	James Harden	Lance Stephenson
Season	2009-10	2010-11
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Indiana Pacers
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:	+64	+13.3	+6.8	+0.5	+1.2	+1.7		+0.8	+0.3	-0.1	-1.4	+2.0	+4.3	+.070	+1.2	+2.9	+.375	+1.7	+2.0	+.022
Lance Stephenson	12	9.6	3.1	0.1	1.4	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	1.3	1.2	1.1	3.3	.333	0.0	0.4	.000	0.9	1.2	.786
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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	James Harden	Lance Stephenson
Season	2011-12	2012-13
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+16	+2.2	+8.0	+0.1	+0.3	+0.2	+0.8			-0.8	-0.3	+1.5	+2.4	+.031	+1.0	+2.3	+.060	+4.0	+4.5	+.194
Lance Stephenson	78	29.2	8.8	0.6	3.3	3.9	2.9	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.1	3.5	7.7	.460	0.8	2.4	.330	1.0	1.5	.652
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:	+1	+3.9	+6.9		+2.3	+2.5	+0.1	+0.4		-0.2	-0.9	+1.1	+1.8	+.027	+0.7	+0.5	+.129	+4.2	+4.4	+.235
Lance Stephenson	19	35.4	9.4	0.7	6.8	7.6	3.3	1.2	0.1	1.9	2.5	3.6	8.9	.408	0.9	3.4	.281	1.2	1.9	.622

Season 4
	James Harden	Lance Stephenson
Season	2012-13	2013-14
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals

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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:		+3.0	+12.1	+0.4	+1.8	+2.3	+1.2	+1.1	+0.4	-1.1	-0.2	+2.0	+5.9	+.053	+1.2	+3.1	+.016	+6.8	+7.7	+.140
Lance Stephenson	78	35.3	13.8	1.2	5.9	7.2	4.6	0.7	0.1	2.7	2.5	5.5	11.2	.491	1.1	3.1	.352	1.8	2.5	.711
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:	+13	+3.4	+12.7	+0.5	+0.2	+0.2	+0.3	+1.2	+0.8	-2.1	-0.1	+2.2	+7.6	+.064	+1.2	+3.8	+.017	+7.0	+8.4	+.089
Lance Stephenson	19	37.1	13.6	1.3	5.6	6.9	4.2	0.8	0.2	2.4	2.9	5.3	11.6	.455	1.3	3.5	.358	1.8	2.6	.714

Season 5
	James Harden	Lance Stephenson
Season	2013-14	2014-15
Team	Houston Rockets	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	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:	+12	+12.2	+17.2	+0.2		+0.2	+2.2	+1.0	+0.3	-1.5	-0.2	+4.1	+7.5	+.080	+2.1	+4.9	+.195	+6.8	+7.3	+.239
Lance Stephenson	61	25.8	8.2	0.6	3.9	4.5	3.9	0.6	0.1	2.1	2.2	3.4	9.0	.376	0.3	1.7	.171	1.1	1.8	.627
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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	James Harden	Lance Stephenson
Season	2014-15	2015-16
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Grizzlies 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:	+12	+16.9	+19.1	+0.3	+2.0	+2.5	+5.1	+1.3	+0.6	-2.6	-0.6	+4.7	+11.2	+.041	+2.2	+5.8	+.010	+7.5	+8.6	+.084
Lance Stephenson	69	19.9	8.3	0.6	2.7	3.2	1.9	0.6	0.1	1.4	2.0	3.3	6.9	.481	0.4	1.1	.385	1.3	1.6	.784
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	+13.6	+14.2	+0.4	+3.7	+4.2	+5.7	+1.3	+0.4	-3.7	-0.4	+1.8	+6.3	+.084	+1.9	+5.0	+.017	+8.6	+9.2	+.116
Lance Stephenson	4	23.8	13.0	0.3	1.3	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	0.8	2.5	5.8	11.0	.523	0.5	1.3	.400	1.0	1.3	.800

Season 7
	James Harden	Lance Stephenson
Season	2015-16	2016-17
Team	Houston Rockets	New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers Lost East 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:	+64	+18.0	+22.2	+0.6	+2.6	+3.2	+4.2	+1.4	+0.4	-3.2	-1.0	+5.7	+13.0	+.011	+2.6	+6.9	+.059	+8.4	+9.5	+.245
Lance Stephenson	18	20.1	6.8	0.2	2.7	2.9	3.3	0.3	0.2	1.4	1.8	3.0	6.7	.450	0.3	1.1	.300	0.4	0.7	.615
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:	+1	+11.8	+10.6	+1.1	+1.2	+0.1	+4.8	+1.9	+0.2	-4.2	-0.2	+1.4	+6.7	+.099	+0.8	+3.9	+.079	+6.8	+8.0	+.094
Lance Stephenson	4	26.8	16.0	0.3	5.0	5.3	2.8	0.5	0.0	1.0	2.8	6.8	13.3	.509	1.8	4.5	.389	0.8	1.0	.750

Season 8
	James Harden	Lance Stephenson
Season	2016-17	2017-18
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers 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:	+1	+13.8	+19.9	+0.4	+2.6	+2.9	+8.3	+0.9	+0.3	-4.1	-0.5	+4.6	+10.3	+.013	+2.4	+6.5	+.058	+8.2	+9.4	+.186
Lance Stephenson	82	22.6	9.2	0.8	4.4	5.2	2.9	0.6	0.2	1.6	2.2	3.7	8.6	.427	0.8	2.8	.289	1.0	1.5	.661
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:	+4	+15.7	+18.1	+0.2	+2.5	+2.8	+5.6	+1.6	+0.4	-4.1	-1.0	+3.9	+10.5	+.049	+1.8	+6.8	+.030	+8.5	+9.2	+.322
Lance Stephenson	7	21.3	10.4	0.4	2.3	2.7	2.9	0.3	0.1	1.3	2.9	4.3	9.3	.462	1.1	3.7	.308	0.7	1.3	.556

Season 9
	James Harden	Lance Stephenson
Season	2017-18	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+4	+18.9	+23.2	+0.1	+2.1	+2.2	+6.7	+1.2	+0.6	-3.1	-0.7	+6.3	+13.7	+.023	+2.6	+7.1	+.004	+8.0	+9.0	+.173
Lance Stephenson	68	16.5	7.2	0.5	2.7	3.2	2.1	0.6	0.1	1.3	1.6	2.7	6.4	.426	1.1	2.9	.371	0.7	1.1	.685
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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Lance Stephenson didn't play in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Season 10
	James Harden	Lance Stephenson
Season	2018-19	2021-22
Team	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers
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:	+32	+19.1	+27.8	+0.5	+3.3	+3.8	+3.9	+1.5	+0.6	-3.4	-1.0	+7.6	+17.5	+.013	+4.2	+11.2	+.068	+8.3	+9.3	+.091
Lance Stephenson	46	17.7	8.3	0.3	2.5	2.8	3.6	0.5	0.1	1.6	2.1	3.2	7.0	.455	0.6	2.0	.300	1.4	1.7	.788
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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* James Harden played 6 seasons more than Lance Stephenson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 16, from 2020 to 2025—James Harden played in 6 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over Lance Stephenson, 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