James Harden vs. Marcus Smart Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Marcus Smart 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 17 years in the NBA, 5 more than Marcus Smart, who played 12. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Marcus Smart had his rookie season in 2014-15. 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	Marcus Smart
Season	2009-10	2014-15
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+9	+4.1	+2.1	+0.3	+0.2	+0.1	+1.3	+0.4		-0.1		+0.5	+0.5	+.036	+0.2	+0.8	+.040	+1.4	+1.3	+.162
Marcus Smart	67	27.0	7.8	0.9	2.4	3.3	3.1	1.5	0.3	1.3	2.6	2.6	7.1	.367	1.4	4.1	.335	1.2	1.9	.646
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:	+2	+2.5	+2.1	+1.1	+0.8	+0.3	+0.5	+0.7	+0.1	-0.5	-0.7	+1.5	+2.1	+.096	+0.2	+0.6	+.144	+0.7	+0.6	+.309
Marcus Smart	4	22.5	9.8	1.3	1.5	2.8	1.3	0.3	0.3	1.0	3.0	3.5	7.3	.483	0.8	3.3	.231	2.0	3.8	.533

Season 3
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2011-12	2016-17
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

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:	+17	+1.0	+6.2	+0.5	+0.7	+0.2	+0.9	+0.6	+0.2	-0.2		+1.6	+0.6	+.132	+0.6	+0.5	+.107	+2.4	+2.8	+.034
Marcus Smart	79	30.4	10.6	1.0	2.9	3.9	4.6	1.6	0.4	2.0	2.4	3.4	9.5	.359	1.2	4.2	.283	2.6	3.2	.812
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:	+2	+1.6	+7.7	+0.6	+1.1	+0.4	+1.3	+0.1	+0.8		-0.6	+2.1	+3.3	+.084		+0.2	+.013	+3.6	+3.5	+.217
Marcus Smart	18	29.9	8.6	1.3	3.4	4.7	4.7	1.5	0.9	2.1	2.8	2.6	7.4	.351	1.6	4.1	.397	1.8	2.8	.640

Season 4
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2012-13	2017-18
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

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	+8.4	+15.7		+1.4	+1.4	+1.0	+0.5	+0.1	-1.4	-0.2	+4.0	+7.6	+.071	+0.9	+1.6	+.067	+6.8	+7.7	+.122
Marcus Smart	54	29.9	10.2	0.8	2.7	3.5	4.8	1.3	0.4	2.4	2.5	3.5	9.5	.367	1.4	4.6	.301	1.8	2.5	.729
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:	+9	+10.6	+16.5	+0.1	+3.0	+3.0	+0.8	+0.3	+0.3	-2.1	-0.1	+4.3	+9.7	+.055	+1.5	+2.8	+.120	+6.4	+7.7	+.068
Marcus Smart	15	29.9	9.8	0.9	2.8	3.7	5.3	1.7	0.7	2.4	2.9	3.2	9.5	.336	1.0	4.5	.221	2.4	3.3	.735

Season 5
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2013-14	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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:	+7	+10.5	+16.5	+0.1	+1.7	+1.8	+2.1	+0.2		-2.1	-0.1	+4.5	+9.4	+.034	+0.8	+2.3	+.002	+6.6	+7.5	+.060
Marcus Smart	80	27.5	8.9	0.7	2.2	2.9	4.0	1.8	0.4	1.5	2.5	3.0	7.1	.422	1.6	4.3	.364	1.3	1.6	.806
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:	+4	+27.8	+23.3	+1.2	+3.8	+2.7	+3.8	+0.5	+0.2	-2.0	-2.0	+7.8	+16.7	+.285	+2.2	+3.5	+.205	+5.5	+5.3	+.233
Marcus Smart	2	16.0	3.5	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	1.5	0.0	1.5	1.5	0.5	5.5	.091	0.5	5.5	.091	2.0	3.0	.667

Season 6
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2014-15	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

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:	+21	+4.8	+14.5	+0.2	+1.6	+1.9	+2.1	+0.2	+0.2	-2.3	-0.1	+3.7	+6.7	+.065	+0.3	+0.3	+.028	+6.7	+7.7	+.032
Marcus Smart	60	32.0	12.9	0.7	3.1	3.8	4.9	1.7	0.5	1.7	2.7	4.3	11.4	.375	2.3	6.6	.347	2.1	2.5	.836
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:		+0.7	+12.7	+0.1	+0.4	+0.5	+2.9	+0.4	+0.1	-1.9	-0.3	+3.0	+5.7	+.045		+0.9	+.050	+6.7	+7.2	+.041
Marcus Smart	17	38.1	14.5	0.6	4.6	5.2	4.6	1.2	0.5	2.6	3.2	4.6	11.6	.394	2.4	7.2	.333	2.9	3.3	.875

Season 7
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2015-16	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+34	+5.2	+15.9		+2.6	+2.6	+1.8	+0.2	+0.1	-2.6	-0.2	+4.5	+9.1	+.041	+1.0	+2.1	+.029	+6.1	+6.8	+.070
Marcus Smart	48	32.9	13.1	0.8	2.7	3.5	5.7	1.5	0.5	2.0	2.6	4.2	10.6	.398	1.9	5.9	.330	2.7	3.4	.790
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:		+2.0	+8.8	+0.6	+0.2	+0.8	+1.6	+1.4		-2.4	-0.2	+2.4	+6.8	+.029	+0.6	+0.2	+.062	+4.6	+4.8	+.130
Marcus Smart	5	36.6	17.8	0.8	3.6	4.4	6.0	1.0	0.2	2.8	2.8	5.8	13.2	.439	3.2	8.6	.372	3.0	4.2	.714

Season 8
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2016-17	2021-22
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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:	+10	+4.1	+17.0	+0.6	+3.8	+4.3	+5.3	+0.2	+0.2	-3.5	-0.4	+4.1	+8.8	+.022	+1.5	+4.2	+.016	+7.2	+8.4	+.054
Marcus Smart	71	32.3	12.1	0.6	3.2	3.8	5.9	1.7	0.3	2.2	2.3	4.2	10.1	.418	1.7	5.1	.331	2.0	2.5	.793
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:	+10	+0.8	+13.1	+0.4	+1.2	+1.0	+2.6	+0.7	+0.3	-2.9	-0.5	+2.8	+6.5	+.008	+0.6	+4.0	+.072	+6.8	+7.5	+.072
Marcus Smart	21	36.2	15.4	1.0	3.6	4.5	5.9	1.2	0.2	2.5	3.4	5.4	13.3	.405	2.3	6.5	.350	2.4	3.0	.806

Season 9
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2017-18	2022-23
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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:	+11	+3.3	+18.9	+0.2	+2.4	+2.3	+2.5	+0.3	+0.3	-2.1	-0.5	+4.9	+10.2	+.034	+1.8	+4.4	+.031	+7.3	+8.2	+.112
Marcus Smart	61	32.1	11.5	0.8	2.4	3.1	6.3	1.5	0.4	2.3	2.8	4.1	9.9	.415	1.9	5.6	.336	1.4	1.9	.746
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:	+3	+2.5	+13.7	+0.3	+1.4	+1.2	+1.7	+0.9	+0.3	-1.5	-0.8	+4.2	+11.4	+.043	+0.9	+4.1	+.062	+4.3	+4.5	+.087
Marcus Smart	20	34.0	14.9	1.1	3.0	4.0	5.1	1.3	0.3	2.3	1.9	5.1	11.2	.453	2.2	6.1	.361	2.6	3.3	.800

Season 10
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2018-19	2023-24
Team	Houston Rockets	Memphis Grizzlies
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:	+58	+6.5	+21.6	+0.5	+3.4	+3.9	+3.2	+0.1	+0.4	-1.9	-0.4	+5.7	+12.6	+.012	+2.7	+6.5	+.055	+7.5	+8.2	+.111
Marcus Smart	20	30.3	14.5	0.3	2.4	2.7	4.3	2.1	0.3	3.1	2.7	5.1	11.9	.430	2.1	6.7	.313	2.2	2.8	.768
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
Marcus Smart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2019-20	2024-25
Team	Houston Rockets	Memphis Grizzlies, Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did not play

more >>

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:	+34	+16.5	+25.3	+0.5	+3.9	+4.5	+4.3	+0.7	+0.6	-2.9	-1.7	+6.9	+14.7	+.051	+3.0	+8.3	+.007	+8.6	+9.7	+.104
Marcus Smart	34	20.0	9.0	0.5	1.6	2.1	3.2	1.1	0.3	1.6	1.6	3.0	7.6	.393	1.4	4.1	.348	1.6	2.1	.761
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
Marcus Smart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	James Harden	Marcus Smart
Season	2020-21	2025-26
Team	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	Did not play (season in progress)

more >>

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:	+24	+8.9	+14.3	+0.1	+5.2	+5.3	+8.0	+0.2	+0.4	-2.3	-0.6	+4.4	+8.3	+.061	+1.1	+2.0	+.056	+4.5	+5.3	+.062
Marcus Smart	20	27.7	10.3	0.7	1.9	2.6	2.8	1.4	0.4	1.7	2.9	3.4	8.4	.405	1.7	5.6	.306	1.8	2.0	.923
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
Marcus Smart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* James Harden played 5 seasons more than Marcus Smart in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 17, from 2022 to 2026—James Harden played in 4 Playoffs. In those 5 extra years over Marcus Smart, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Third Team 1 Assists Leader 2 All-Star Game