James Harden vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio 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 17 years in the NBA, 5 more than Ricky Rubio, who played 12. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Ricky Rubio had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
Ricky Rubio	12	3	2011-12 to 2022-23

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


Rookie Season
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2009-10	2011-12
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
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:	+35	+11.3	+0.7	+0.1	+1.1	+1.0	+6.4	+1.1	+0.1	-1.8	-0.2	+0.3	+1.9	+.046	+0.4	+1.0	+.035	+0.5	+0.6	+.005
Ricky Rubio	41	34.2	10.6	0.5	3.7	4.2	8.2	2.2	0.2	3.2	2.4	3.4	9.5	.357	0.8	2.3	.340	3.1	3.8	.803

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2010-11	2012-13
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Minnesota Timberwolves
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:	+25	+3.0	+1.5	+0.3	+0.6	+0.9	+5.2	+1.3	+0.2	-1.7		+0.4	+0.7	+.076	+0.9	+2.4	+.056	+0.2	+0.4	+.044
Ricky Rubio	57	29.7	10.7	0.8	3.2	4.0	7.3	2.4	0.1	3.0	2.5	3.2	9.0	.360	0.5	1.6	.293	3.7	4.6	.799

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2011-12	2013-14
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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	+7.3	+0.2	+0.2	+0.1	+4.9	+1.3	+0.1	-0.5	-0.3	+1.9	+1.9	+.110	+1.3	+3.1	+.059	+2.2	+2.5	+.044
Ricky Rubio	82	32.2	9.5	0.7	3.4	4.2	8.6	2.3	0.1	2.7	2.7	3.1	8.2	.381	0.5	1.6	.331	2.8	3.5	.802

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2012-13	2014-15
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
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:	+56	+6.8	+15.6	+0.1	+0.7	+0.8	+3.0	+0.1	+0.5	-0.9	-0.4	+4.0	+7.1	+.082	+1.7	+3.9	+.113	+6.0	+7.0	+.048
Ricky Rubio	22	31.5	10.3	0.9	4.8	5.7	8.8	1.7	0.0	2.9	2.7	3.5	10.0	.356	0.6	2.3	.255	2.6	3.2	.803

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2013-14	2015-16
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
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:	+3	+7.4	+15.3	+0.3	+0.1	+0.4	+2.6	+0.5	+0.3	-1.1	-0.2	+4.6	+8.8	+.082	+1.6	+4.1	+.040	+4.4	+5.0	+.019
Ricky Rubio	76	30.6	10.1	0.5	3.8	4.3	8.7	2.1	0.1	2.5	2.6	2.9	7.7	.374	0.8	2.5	.326	3.5	4.1	.847

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2014-15	2016-17
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
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:	+6	+3.9	+16.3		+1.5	+1.6	+2.1	+0.2	+0.6	-1.4	-0.1	+4.5	+9.4	+.038	+1.8	+4.3	+.069	+5.4	+6.4	+.023
Ricky Rubio	75	32.9	11.1	0.9	3.2	4.1	9.1	1.7	0.1	2.6	2.7	3.5	8.7	.402	0.8	2.6	.306	3.4	3.8	.891

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2015-16	2017-18
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+5	+8.8	+15.9	+0.2	+1.3	+1.5	+2.2	+0.1	+0.5	-1.9	-0.1	+4.2	+9.0	+.021	+1.7	+4.5	+.007	+5.9	+6.9	+.006
Ricky Rubio	77	29.3	13.1	0.6	4.0	4.6	5.3	1.6	0.1	2.7	2.7	4.5	10.7	.418	1.2	3.5	.352	2.9	3.3	.866

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	+8.4	+12.6	+0.6	+2.7	+2.1	+0.6	+1.1	+0.3	-2.2	-0.4	+3.5	+6.8	+.056	+0.9	+3.1	+.003	+4.6	+5.2	+.061
Ricky Rubio	6	30.2	14.0	0.8	6.5	7.3	7.0	1.3	0.5	3.0	2.2	4.7	13.2	.354	1.7	5.3	.313	3.0	3.8	.783


Season 8
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2016-17	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Jazz Lost West 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:	+13	+8.5	+16.4	+0.7	+3.9	+4.5	+5.1	+0.2	+0.4	-3.1	-0.1	+4.0	+8.2	+.036	+2.0	+5.6	+.036	+6.3	+7.5	+.008
Ricky Rubio	68	27.9	12.7	0.5	3.1	3.6	6.1	1.3	0.1	2.6	2.6	4.3	10.7	.404	1.2	3.7	.311	2.9	3.4	.855

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	+3.4	+13.1		+2.2	+2.3	+0.1	+0.5	+0.3	-2.4	-1.1	+2.6	+6.6	+.011	+2.1	+6.5	+.078	+5.8	+6.5	+.028
Ricky Rubio	5	33.6	15.4	0.6	2.6	3.2	8.6	2.4	0.2	3.0	2.8	5.6	13.2	.424	0.8	4.0	.200	3.4	4.0	.850


Season 9
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2017-18	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	Phoenix Suns
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:	+7	+4.4	+17.4	+0.1	+0.8	+0.7		+0.4	+0.5	-1.7	-0.3	+4.6	+9.5	+.034	+2.5	+6.7	+.006	+5.7	+6.6	+.005
Ricky Rubio	65	31.0	13.0	0.7	4.0	4.7	8.8	1.4	0.2	2.7	2.6	4.4	10.6	.415	1.2	3.3	.361	3.0	3.5	.863

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2018-19	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
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:	+10	+10.7	+27.5	+0.4	+2.9	+3.3	+1.1	+0.6	+0.6	-3.4	-1.1	+8.0	+17.2	+.054	+3.8	+10.1	+.060	+7.8	+8.8	+.012
Ricky Rubio	68	26.1	8.6	0.4	2.9	3.3	6.4	1.4	0.1	1.6	2.0	2.8	7.3	.388	1.0	3.1	.308	1.9	2.2	.867

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2019-20	2021-22
Team	Houston Rockets	Cleveland Cavaliers
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	+8.0	+21.2	+0.6	+1.8	+2.5	+0.9	+0.4	+0.7	-1.9	-1.1	+5.5	+10.2	+.081	+2.7	+7.3	+.016	+7.6	+8.8	+.011
Ricky Rubio	34	28.5	13.1	0.4	3.7	4.1	6.6	1.4	0.2	2.6	2.2	4.4	12.1	.363	1.7	5.1	.339	2.6	3.0	.854

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	James Harden	Ricky Rubio
Season	2020-21	2022-23
Team	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+11	+19.4	+19.4	+0.5	+5.3	+5.8	+7.3	+0.4	+0.6	-3.1	-0.8	+6.0	+11.3	+.123	+2.2	+5.1	+.106	+5.5	+6.2	+.061
Ricky Rubio	33	17.2	5.2	0.3	1.8	2.1	3.5	0.8	0.2	0.9	1.5	1.8	5.4	.343	0.6	2.5	.256	0.8	1.1	.800

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:	+6	+30.1	+20.2	+0.1	+4.3	+4.3	+7.6	+1.4	+0.7	-1.2	-0.9	+5.7	+11.7	+.472	+2.7	+7.3		+6.2	+6.9
Ricky Rubio	3	5.7	0.0	0.7	1.3	2.0	1.0	0.3	0.0	1.7	1.7	0.0	0.3	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Additional Years
* James Harden played 5 seasons more than Ricky Rubio 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 Ricky Rubio, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Third Team 1 Assists Leader 2 All-Star Game

James Harden vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio 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

Additional Years